Uncovering the history of Manhattan Beach – Florida’s first African American beach resort in the segregated South – has been a labor of love for Beaches Museum Associate Director, Brittany Cohill.  Manhattan Beach, located at present-day Hanna Park, was founded by Henry Flagler around 1900 as a place for black employees of his Florida East Coast companies to spend their leisure time, including those building his Continental Hotel. In keeping with national, regional, and local Jim Crow laws the Beaches area was segregated. Until the late 1930s, Manhattan Beach was the only beach in the Jacksonville-area open to African Americans. However, with no visual evidence of the site remaining today and little archival material, uncovering this history relies heavily on the contributions of members of the community with direct ties to its past.

Dr. Yvonne Hicks shares family history and photos with the Beaches Museum

Cohill’s research began as she was pursuing her master’s degree in history at the University of North Florida. She transformed her student project into a public presentation which she debuted as part of the Museum’s Boardwalk Talk series in August 2017. Since then, Cohill has continued her research under the auspices of the Museum and her presentation has evolved in step.

Over the course of two and a half years, she has delivered her presentation nearly a dozen times. Each time, someone from the community comes forward with another piece of the puzzle.

Most recently, Cohill had the pleasure of sitting down with Kenneth LeSesne and Dr. Yvonne Hicks. Mr. LeSesne’s grandfather, Mack Wilson, was a prominent business owner in Manhattan Beach. Dr. Hicks’ great-grandmother was Mack Wilson’s sister.

They chronicled their family’s story including the journey out of plantation slavery in the Florida panhandle to becoming property and business owners in Jacksonville and Manhattan Beach.

Their oral histories – now recorded and housed in the Beaches Museum archive – are truly invaluable. Just as invaluable are the photographs Dr. Hicks provided of her family spending time at Manhattan Beach in the 1930s – all of which can be viewed in the Museum’s newest pop-up exhibit.

The exhibit, “Recovering Manhattan Beach: Florida’s First African American Beach Resort in the Segregated South,” will be on display at the Rhoda L. Martin Cultural Heritage Center in June 2019. In conjunction with the exhibit installation, Cohill will deliver the newest iteration of her presentation on June 4, 2019, which is now available on YouTube here.

Reproductions of “The Green Book” accompany the traveling exhibit.