History
Founded in 1978 by a group of longtime local residents, the Beaches
Area Historical Society (BAHS) is the only organization dedicated
solely to preserving the history and heritage of Florida's First
Coast beach communities including Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune
Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Ponte Vedra Beach and historic Palm Valley.
The Society opened first as a research facility and repository for
historic photographs, but soon like-minded local citizens began
bringing in their cherished family pieces, and a small museum was
born. By 1996 the society had accepted, relocated, and restored
the FEC Section Foreman's House, the Mayport Depot, an early Pablo
Beach Post Office, and a 28-ton 1911 steam locomotive.
In 2001, initiated by strong public interest, the BAHS Board of
Directors began a capital campaign to raise funds for the construction
of a new museum and archives facility. On March 7, 2006, the Beaches
Museum & History Center, operated by the Beaches Area Historical
Society, opened its doors to residents, tourists, and school children.
Click below to learn more about the history of the Beaches communities:
Mayport
Atlantic Beach
Neptune
Beach
Jacksonville Beach
Ponte
Vedra
Palm Valley
Mayport
Mayport is French by birth, Spanish by upbringing, but decidedly
American with the United States Naval Station Mayport dominating
the present day community.
On May 1, 1562, French Admiral Jean Ribault sailed into the Rivere
de Mai, later named the St. Johns River, claiming all before him
for his motherland, France. From that day forward, Mayport and environs
saw several hundred years of power struggle with control alternately
being held by France, Spain, England, Spain again and, finally,
the United States.
By 1827, with governmental intervention relating to river pilots
on the treacherous St. Johns River, the population of the existing
fishing community increased, and a lighthouse was constructed. Called
Hazard on early maps and documents, the settlement became known
as Mayport Mills, homage to the French naming the river after the
month of May.
The following year, the United States acknowledged the land grant
awarded by Spain to the Dewees family. In 1841, part of the Dewees
Land Grant was sold to David Palmer and Darius Ferris who laid out
the plat for modern Mayport. In those days, lumber was king in Mayport
Mills and the ‘white gold’ was brought by boat, cart
or raft to the mills.
As railroads pushed deeper into the South, the importance of Northeast
Florida was recognized. The extension of the Florida East Coast
Railway to Mayport in 1900 spurred the growth and economy of the
town. Coal powered trains were able to load coal directly from the
docks; the old hazardous mouth of the St. Johns River had been tamed
by jetties, built by the government, reaching miles into the Atlantic
Ocean. Mayport was a two way traveling town: lumber and naval stores
were carried away by schooner while settlers, tourists and health
seekers were carried in by steamboat.
In 1913 Elizabeth Starke bought a 375-acre estate she called Wonderwood.
The estate was later acquired by the federal government to establish
a naval station on its site.
When the trains stopped running in 1932, Mayport returned to its
roots, fishing and shrimping. The community continues to coexist
with US Naval Station Mayport, a military base established prior
to World War II and one of the largest and most sophisticated military
bases in the world.
Today, what was once an historic, picturesque fishing village is
giving way to modern development like all the other communities
at the beach.
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Atlantic Beach
Although intimately associated with rail magnate Henry M. Flagler’s
Continental Hotel, Atlantic Beach has a long history of its own.
It is believed by many scholars that the first permanent, year-round
Native American settlement in North America was located at what
is today Atlantic Beach near the mouth of the St. Johns River in
3,570 B.C.E. The abundance of food and the benign climate encouraged
successive native cultures such as the Timucua to settle in the
area as well.
While the tourist industry in Atlantic Beach remained the focus
for the area during the early 1900s, the completion of Atlantic
Boulevard in 1910, connecting Atlantic Beach with south Jacksonville,
allowed for a prosperous residential community to grow. The citizenry
eventually changed from a seasonal population to full-time residents
creating a year-round town peppered with architecturally significant
homes.
The Town of Atlantic Beach incorporated in 1926 with the governor
appointing Harcourt Bull as the first mayor. The hotel business
continued to bolster Atlantic Beach. Tourism provided employment
and supplied essential infrastructure such as electricity, which
was provided to the community by the Atlantic Beach Hotel, successor
to Flagler’s Continental Hotel until 1938.
Under the city charter of 1957, the city has grown and expanded
to a community of diverse neighborhoods with a common emphasis on
the residential character of the city. Today, many residents of
Atlantic Beach work in Jacksonville, but their heart and home is
at the Beaches.
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Neptune Beach
Neptune Beach lies between Atlantic Beach to the north and Jacksonville
Beach, its parent tract, to the south. Eugene F. Gilbert bought
the 180 acre parcel which became Neptune Beach from the State of
Florida for the sum of $1.25 an acre in 1884. The first subdivision
map was filed one year later.
As with all the Beaches communities, the development of the railroad
is integral to its history. Legend has it that Dan Wheeler had a
cottage near the shore, however he worked in Jacksonville. Mr. Wheeler
rode the train back and forth to work, but since the train would
not stop at his house, he rode all the way to Mayport and had to
walk back home. He learned that the train would have to stop if
there were a station so, determined to end his daily walks, he built
one, and the station was named Neptune.
In the early 1930s, the area of Neptune Beach was still a remote
and sparsely populated section of Jacksonville Beach. Residents
of the area felt they were not receiving adequate return of services
for their taxes and they voted to secede from Jacksonville Beach
and create the separate community of Neptune Beach. On August 11,
1931 this determination made Neptune Beach a separate political
entity.
Neptune Beach is a quiet residential community that does not encourage
commercial development or industry, neither has it adopted the commercial
entertainment enterprises. The community is resident focused, whose
seaside location is mainly for the enjoyment of its own citizens.
It boasts the largest park at the Beaches. Important to its traditions,
Neptune Beach is proud that many of its homes have stayed in the
same family for generations.
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Jacksonville Beach
Ruby, Pablo Beach, or Jacksonville Beach – no matter what
it has been called, this special place has been the hub of Beaches
life since the early days of the 1880s. This was the beach for fun
and festivities, of the railroad, and the beach that set the tone
for the development of the other beaches. This is the Famous Beach.
In true Florida style, Jacksonville Beach began here with the dream
of development: to turn this "oak scrub beach" into the
tourist and entertainment hub of the Atlantic Coast. Beginning as
a tent city for a few hardy souls, Jacksonville Beach has become
a business, resort and residential community able to thrive on change
and recognize adversity as an opportunity.
In 1884, William and Eleanor Scull set up their tent home at the
beach to help survey the area for the coming railroad. Eleanor opened
the first general store and post office on the beach, thereby bestowing
the name Ruby on the area. The little community grew. In 1899, Henry
Flagler purchased the faltering Jacksonville & Atlantic Railroad,
converting it to regular gauge and spearheading the development
of the area. Some 20 years later, the boardwalk had become a major
attraction and the Beaches population grew. Racing, aviation, dancing,
eating and frolicking in the waves became hallmarks of Jacksonville
Beach!
Today, the sense of community is very strong here as Jacksonville
Beach experiences growing pains. The city is growing vertically
with old landmarks being replaced by modern cement "sand castles"
and an influx of new residents. The atmosphere is still warm and
friendly as a small town would be. The Jacksonville Beach welcome
is still strong after some 110 years. Old friend or new friend,
we are glad you are here.
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Ponte Vedra
Ponte Vedra has enjoyed a rich 400-year history, with a different
flare than the other Beach communities. Since the establishment
of St. Augustine by the Spanish in 1565, and the founding of Fort
Caroline by the French to the north, soldiers have traveled the
sands of Ponte Vedra vying for a foothold in Northeast Florida.
This area has been rich in rattlesnakes, alligators, mosquitoes,
and minerals. The National Lead Company mined for minerals in the
sand for years, and at that time there were as many mules as people
in Mineral City.
When it became less profitable to extract minerals from the sand,
the National Lead Company brought in the Telfair Stockton Company
to begin a real estate development of the site. Since the area was
being developed for an affluent clientele, one of the first tasks
was to change the name from Mineral City to something with a little
more widespread appeal. An article on Ponte Vedra, Spain, and its
claim to being the birthplace of Christopher Columbus (inaccurate),
swayed the decision. The name Ponte Vedra was chosen. The last vestiges
of the mining past were obliterated, the slate cleaned, and Ponte
Vedra was on its way!
The remoteness of the Beaches was still a problem. The developers
offered initial buyers deep discounts to encourage development and
a small, existing golf course was greatly improved. As residential
development increased, the State of Florida completed the road from
Jacksonville Beach south to St. Augustine, opening the last segment
of the East Coast Scenic Highway. Ponte Vedra Beach was in the conceptual
stage in 1928 when the owners of the land actually set up plans
for serious development of the area as a resort.
By 1942, National Lead Company sold its interest in Ponte Vedra
to the locally driven Ponte Vedra Corporation. The community rapidly
developed into a year-round resort community with a substantial
permanent population. Today, Ponte Vedra Beach is considered one
of the most luxurious recreational and residential locations in
the country, offering over 153 holes of golf, 60 tennis courts and
miles of fabulous and famous white sand beaches.
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Palm Valley
Long before the first Spanish settlers arrived, there was an Indian
village in what we call Palm Valley today. Several Indian mounds
have been uncovered revealing points, pottery and human skeletons.
Early Franciscan missionaries constructed a mission in the area
called The Nativity of Our Lady of Tolomato.
By 1703, Don Diego Espinoza had settled in what is today the Palm
Valley area. His vast ranch and the surrounding territory was known
as Diego Plains. In the 1730s, the ranch was fortified to protect
its inhabitants from Indian attack. By 1739, Great Britain and Spain
were at war and trouble was brewing for the Diego Plains settlers.
British General James Oglethorpe was commissioned to harass the
Spanish settlements south of the colony of Georgia so the Spanish
governor fortified the Diego farmhouse which was already being called
Fort San Diego. After Oglethorpe’s failure to capture St.
Augustine, the Spanish military abandoned Fort San Diego, but other
inhabitants moved into the area, living off the land and the cattle.
In 1908, a canal was dug through Diego Plains connecting the San
Pablo River to the north with the Tolomato River near St. Augustine
to the south. This intracoastal canal made access to the valley
much easier for the residents that had settled in this area. In
addition to raising cattle, they farmed, logged, and sold palm fronds
to religious groups. The many palm trees growing in the region led
some of the settlers to decide on the name Palm Valley for their
community.
Prohibition turned some of the valley residents to another source
of income – moonshine. The abundant water supply and deep
woods areas in the valley were ideal for the concealment of illegal
whiskey distilling. The moonshine industry thrived even after the
Volstead Act was repealed in 1933, but the rising price of sugar
finally brought the illegal whiskey industry to an end.
Palm Valley remained a quiet area of the Beaches, between A1A and
U.S. 1. There were many farms where produce and livestock were raised.
The development of the Beaches has also affected Palm Valley. Today
most farms in the valley have disappeared, opening the land for
luxurious residences overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.
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© 2006
Beaches Area Historical Society - All Rights Reserved
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