Jacksonville

Jacksonville has been a place of human settlement for almost 20,000 years, it was originally settled by the Timucan Indians who resided in the Jacksonville Area and around the St. Johns River until about 1763 when they were wiped out by Europeans. It was first sighted by Europeans in 1513 when the famous Ponce de Leon landed in the area and claimed it for Spain. France must not have been listening and in 1564 the French established a colony in the area called Ft. Caroline, within a year the Spanish had destroyed it and killed all the inhabitants. Eventually people formed a small community around the current Jacksonville area because a shallow part of the St Johns River allowed cattle to be driven across to the other side, until 1832 the town would be known as Cowford. Between 1750-1820 Florida would change hands three times: first, from Spain to Britain, then, from Britain back to Spain, and finally, in 1819, from Spain to the United States. In 1822 a petition was sent to the US Secratary of State asking for the town to become an official point of entry. This was also the first time that the town refered to itself as Jacksonville, in honor of the first governor of Florida, Andrew Jackson, although it would not be officially incorporated as the Town of Jacksonville until 1832.
 * Jacksonville's Beginnings:**

Jacksonville was a rather peaceful place, even during the Civil War. No land battles were fought nearby and Union forces occupied the city on four different occasions and then left for various reasons. When the war ended it became a very important port for importing goods from South America and the Carribean. The city became more popular in the 1870's and 1880's as a vacation destination for the rich because of its warm, subtropical climate. Capitalizing on its new-found popularity the city put on the Subtropical Exhibition in 1891 to advertise the State of Florida's products and climate. However, tragedy struck on May 3, 1901 when the Great Jacksonville Fire burned 146 city blocks and left 9,000 people homeless. The blaze could be seen from Savannah, Georgia and the smoke would drift all the way to North Carolina. Like Chicago in 1871, Jacksonville used the fire as an excuse to make their city better than ever before between 1901-1912 13,000 new buildings were constructed. With the help and infrastructure of Henry Flagler's railroads the city became home to three large Southern railroads. In 1907 the river was dredged to allow bigger ships into Jacksonville's harbor. Jacksonville's biggest claim to fame was its movie industry, it wasn't until the late 1920's that more movie studios were in Hollywood than Jacksonville. In 1916 more than 30 movie studios called Jacksonville home including one of the studios that would become MGM, the Metro. Oliver Hardy, part of the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy, was from Southern Georgia and worked in Jacksonville for most of his young adult life, he would be a part of 177 shorts made in Jacksonville. Jacksonville would continue to grow throughout the years from a mixture of the banking and insurance industries as well as the major presence of the Navy which would become a huge employer by the outbreak of World War II.
 * Jacksonville After 1850:**

Frederick Adolphus (1878-1883)
 * Visitors:**