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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.
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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