Jacksonville is the largest city in Florida and the state’s financial and insurance capital. It is also an important seaport and a major distribution and transportation center of the southeastern United States. In area, Jacksonville ranks as one of the largest cities in the United States.
Jacksonville lies in northeastern Florida, midway between Atlanta and Miami. The city stretches along the St. Johns River and is bordered on the east by the Atlantic Ocean.
Jacksonville developed around a ford (shallow place) in the St. Johns River. Indians and early colonists drove their cattle across this ford, which became known as Cow Ford. Isaiah D. Hart, a Georgia plantation owner, moved to the Cow Ford area in 1821. The next year, he mapped out a town. He named it Jacksonville after Andrew Jackson, the provisional governor of the Territory of Florida. Jackson later became president of the United States. Jacksonville began to grow and prosper during the 1870’s with the development of its first industries, lumbering and shipping.
The city
occupies almost all of Duval County. The metropolitan area of Jacksonville extends over Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, and St. Johns counties.
The St. Johns River divides Jacksonville into two sections. Seven bridges link the two parts of the city. Downtown Jacksonville lies on both the north and south banks of the river. The Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts stands along the north bank of the river. Concerts, conventions, exhibitions, and plays are held at the performing arts center. City Hall and the Duval County Courthouse lie on the north bank. The Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, to the west of downtown, is linked with the business district by an elevated people mover system.
On the south bank, the St. Johns River Park features the lighted Friendship Fountain, one of the tallest lighted fountains in the United States. It shoots water 120 feet (37 meters) into the air. The Southbank Riverwalk, a boardwalk about 11/2 miles (2 kilometers) long, stretches along the south bank of the river. Restaurants and hotels line the riverwalk, which also features entertainment areas where performers such as musicians and mimes appear.
People.
African Americans make up about 30 percent of the population of Jacksonville. Other groups in the city include people of English, Filipino, German, Irish, and Italian descent.
In the 1970’s, the city received over $25 million in federal funds to build low-cost housing. Religious groups have built several high-rise apartment buildings and a health center, all for the elderly.
Economy.
Jacksonville serves as the main financial and insurance center of Florida. It is a major banking center, and numerous insurance companies have their home or regional offices there.
Jacksonville is also a leading distribution and transportation center of the southeastern United States. Many retail and wholesale warehouses serve the city. Jacksonville is one of Florida’s busiest ports. Shipbuilding and ship repair are also important industries. The U.S. Navy operates Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville in the city.
Jacksonville International Airport, railroad passenger trains, and a nationwide bus company serve Jacksonville. Railroads and trucking firms provide freight service to the city.
Jacksonville has hundreds of factories. Food processing is the chief industry. Other important industries include printing and publishing and the manufacture of chemicals, fabricated metal products, heavy machinery parts, paints, paper and pulp products, and plastics. The city has one daily newspaper, The Florida Times-Union.
Education.
A seven-member School Board runs the public school system in Duval County. The people elect the board members to four-year terms, and the board names a superintendent. Jacksonville also has dozens of private and church-supported schools.
Universities in the city include Edward Waters University, Jacksonville University, and the University of North Florida. The Jacksonville Public Library has a main library in the downtown area and branches throughout the city.
Cultural life and recreation.
The Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra performs at the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts. Other concerts and plays are presented at the performing arts center and at the Florida Theatre. The Florida Theatre was built as a movie house in 1927. Local arts groups restored the building, and the city government purchased it in the mid-1980’s. The Florida Ballet is the city’s professional dance company. The city has several community theater groups. The Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville and the Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens exhibit works of local and nationally known artists. The Museum of Science & History features a planetarium.
Fort Caroline National Memorial, a reconstructed fort, stands northeast of the downtown area. The fort is near the site of the original Fort Caroline, which Huguenots (French Protestants) built in 1564. Near the fort is the Kingsley Plantation. A trader of enslaved people named Zephaniah Kingsley built the plantation in 1813. Both Fort Caroline National Memorial and the Kingsley Plantation are in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve, which is maintained by the National Park Service. Treaty Oak, which is near downtown Jacksonville, is a city landmark. Timucua Indians and European settlers are believed to have made a peace pact under the tree in the 1500’s. The trunk of Treaty Oak is 15 feet (4.6 meters) in diameter.
Jacksonville has a huge sports center. This center includes a baseball park, Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena, and EverBank Stadium. EverBank Stadium serves as the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League and the site of the annual Gator Bowl football game between two top college teams. The annual Players Championship golf tournament takes place just outside of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville has hundreds of parks, playgrounds, and community centers. The Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens has more than 1,500 animals and more than 1,000 varieties of plants. Boating and other water sports are popular in Jacksonville. The city has many public boat landings and several beaches.
Government.
Jacksonville has a mayor-council form of government. The people elect the mayor, the 19 City Council members, and other city officials to four-year terms. The city gets most of its income from property taxes, sewer service charges, and utility taxes.
In 1968, Jacksonville and Duval County consolidated (combined) their governments. They took this action to achieve greater efficiency by ending the duplication of many activities and services. Under the consolidated government, the police and fire departments have been improved, more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) of streets have been paved or repaired, and thousands of street lights have been installed.
History.
Timucua Indians lived in the Jacksonville area long before Europeans first arrived. In 1564, a group of Huguenots led by René Goulaine de Laudonnière built Fort Caroline in the area. But Spain claimed the entire Florida region and was determined to keep the French out. In 1565, Spanish forces defeated the French colony at Fort Caroline in what was probably the first war between white people in America.
The United States gained control of Florida in 1821. The next year, Isaiah D. Hart founded Jacksonville. It was chartered as a town in 1832 and as a city in 1859. By 1860, Jacksonville had about 2,100 people. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), both sides fought for the city, and Union forces occupied it four times.
During the 1870’s, lumbering and shipping became Jacksonville’s first major industries. The city’s mild climate also began to attract many winter vacationers from the North. The increase in tourism led to the opening of the first direct railroad line between Jacksonville and the North in 1888.
Also in 1888, a yellow fever epidemic swept through Jacksonville and killed 427 people. The city grew rapidly during the late 1800’s, and by 1900, it had a population of 28,429. Tragedy struck again in 1901, when a fire raged through the city, destroying 2,368 buildings in a 466-acre (189-hectare) area. The fire killed 7 people, left about 10,000 homeless, and destroyed about $15 million worth of property. But the people united and quickly rebuilt their city. By 1920, Jacksonville’s population had jumped to 91,558. The area south of the St. Johns River became part of the city in 1934. By 1940, 173,065 people lived in Jacksonville.
During World War II (1939-1945), the U.S. government established the Mayport naval base and two naval air stations in Jacksonville. After the war, many people moved from the city to suburban areas. Between 1950 and 1960, Jacksonville’s population declined from 204,517 to 201,030. But the population of Duval County rose from 304,029 to 455,111. Jacksonville and Duval County consolidated their governments in 1968. As a result of this action, Jacksonville rose in rank from the nation’s 61st to 23rd largest city in population.
In the mid-1960’s, Jacksonville officials began working to expand the city’s industries and to attract new ones. An industrial park for factories and warehouses was built during the 1970’s, and the city has carried out a port development program.
In the mid-1980’s, Jacksonville began redevelopment of the downtown areas on both banks of the St. Johns River. The city’s major projects included the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, which was built in a converted railway station dating to 1919. Many private developers participated in the downtown expansion. During the late 1980’s, service industries, such as the health care and telecommunications industries, boomed.
In 2000, a business and housing boom took place in southern Duval and northern St. Johns counties. To cope with this growth, a coalition of government agencies began major projects to clean the St. Johns River, upgrade roads, improve the sewerage system, and preserve open space.
Jacksonville’s population continued to grow rapidly, reaching 949,611 by 2020. By then, Jacksonville had become the nation’s 12th largest city in population.
