Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Jacksonville Beach, Florida
City
City of Jacksonville Beach
Images from top, left to right: Jacksonville Beach Pier, water tower, Jacksonville Beach City Hall, Sea Walk Pavilion, Adventure Landing, Jacksonville Beach
Location in Duval County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 30°17′3″N 81°23′46″W / 30.28417°N 81.39611°W / 30.28417; -81.39611Coordinates: 30°17′3″N 81°23′46″W / 30.28417°N 81.39611°W / 30.28417; -81.39611
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Duval
Government
• Mayor	Richard C. Mongler
Area
• City	22.0 sq mi (56.9 km2)
• Land	7.3 sq mi (19.0 km2)
• Water	14.6 sq mi (37.9 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population (2010)[1]
• City	21,362
• Estimate (2013)[2]	21,823
• Density	2,935/sq mi (1,133.3/km2)
• Metro	1,394,624 (US: 40th)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	32227, 32240, 32250
Area code(s)	904
FIPS code	12-35050
GNIS feature ID	0284697[3]
Website	City of Jacksonville Beach

Jacksonville Beach is a city on the Atlantic coast of Duval County, east of Jacksonville, Florida, United States. It is part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities, together with Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Ponte Vedra Beach. When the city of Jacksonville consolidated with Duval County in 1968, Jacksonville Beach, together with Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Baldwin, voted to retain their own municipal governments. The population was 21,362 at the 2010 census.^[4]

History

European Colonization

The area around present-day Jacksonville Beach was first settled by Spanish settlers. Spanish missions were established from Mayport to St. Augustine. Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain by treaty in 1763, only to have Spain regain it again, and then a final time in 1821 to the United States. American river pilots and fishermen came to Hazard, present-day Mayport, and established a port.^[5]

Pablo Beach

US Army volunteers marching on the beach during the Spanish-American War

In the late 19th century, developers began to see the potential in Duval County's oceanfront as a resort. In 1883 a group of investors formed the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad with the intention of developing a resort community that would be connected to Jacksonville by rail. The first settlers were William Edward Scull, a civil engineer and surveyor, and his wife Eleanor Kennedy Scull. They lived in a tent two blocks east of Pablo Historical Park. A second tent was the general store and post office. On August 22, 1884, Mrs. Scull was appointed postmaster. Mail was dispatched by horse and buggy up the beach to Mayport, and from there to Jacksonville by steamer. The Sculls built the first house in 1884 on their tent site. The settlement was named Ruby for their first daughter. On May 13, 1886, the town was renamed Pablo Beach after the San Pablo River.^[6] In 1885, the San Pablo Diego Beach Land Co. sold town lots ranging from $50 to $100 each along with 5 to 10 acres (2.0 to 4.0 ha) lots from $10 to $20 per acre within 3 miles (4.8 km) of the new seaside resort "Pablo Beach".^[7] In September 1892, work on the wagon road to Pablo Beach (Atlantic Boulevard) was begun.^[8] The first resort hotel called the Murray Hall Hotel was established in mid 1886 but on August 7, 1890 it was destroyed in a fire.^[9] By 1900 the railway company began to have financial difficulties and Henry Flagler took over as part of his Florida East Coast Railway. In late 1900 the railway was changed to standard gauge and was extended to Mayport.

The Spanish–American War broke out in 1898. The 3rd Nebraska arrived July 22, 1898, for training and embarkation. They encamped at Pablo Beach. They were led by three-time presidential candidate, William Jennings Bryan.^[10] After flooding in the camp at Pablo Beach the 3rd Nebraska moved to downtown Jacksonville.^[11]

Ocean View Pavilion in 1936.

Jacksonville Beach

Jacksonville Beach Pier in early 1900s.

The amusement park phase of Jacksonville Beach began in 1905 with The Pavilion which was later expanded and called Little Coney Island. It was a popular tourist attraction that had such entertainment as a dance floor, swim room, bowling alley, and roller skate rinks. An issue with contracting and constant weathering of its wooden structure aged Little Coney Island causing it to be torn down in 1925. On June 15, 1925, the name Pablo Beach was changed to Jacksonville Beach.^[6] The Shad's Pier was created in 1922 by Charles Shad and with help by Martin Williams. Around the same time W. H. Adams, Sr. created the Ocean View Pavilion amusement park on the former site of the Murray Hall Hotel. Adams wanted to create a larger roller coaster than the one at Little Coney Island. His vision resulted in a 93-feet high coaster. The location of the coaster by the beach made it vulnerable to damage and was eventually deemed unsafe. The coaster was then deconstructed to a smaller coaster. The deconstruction of the larger coaster hurt business at the amusement park. By 1949 the Ocean View Pavilion was in decline and then a fire destroyed it a few years later. The only amusement park in Jacksonville Beach today is Adventure Landing. The boardwalk declined in the 1950s due to the crackdown on gambling and games of chance. Driving on the beach was prohibited in 1979.^[12]

Pablo Beach made aviation history on February 24, 1921, Lt. Wm. DeVoe Coney, in a transcontinental flight from San Diego, California, landed at Pablo Beach, having made the flight in 22 hours and 17 minutes, beating the old record, set two years earlier, by 3 hours and 32 minutes.^[8] Coney's record was soon eclipsed on September 5, 1922, by Jimmy Doolittle piloting a De Havilland DH-4 biplane from Pablo Beach to San Diego in an elapsed time of 21 hours and 19 minutes.^[13]

In 1968 most residents of Duval County voted to approve consolidation between the county and the City of Jacksonville. Jacksonville Beach, together with Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and the Westside community of Baldwin voted to retain their own municipal governments. As such they are not part of the City of Jacksonville, but receive county-level services from Jacksonville, and vote for Jacksonville's mayor and City Council. Judy Van Zant, widow of lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd Ronnie Van Zant, and her daughter Melody opened the Freebird Cafe in 1999. Freebird Live, as it later became, was a popular music venue that became a stable for Jacksonville Beach for 16 years until its closure in 2016.^[14] In September 1999 Hurricane Floyd destroyed the Jacksonville Beach Pier. Five years later the pier was rebuilt.^[15] In October 2016 Hurricane Matthew forced a mandatory evacuation for Jacksonville Beach.^[16] Hurricane Matthew came 40 miles off the coast of Jacksonville Beach causing major flooding. The Jacksonville Beach Pier was partially destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.^[17]

Geography

Jacksonville Beach is located at 30°17′3″N 81°23′46″W / 30.28417°N 81.39611°W / 30.28417; -81.39611 (30.284091, -81.396074).^[18]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 22.0 square miles (56.9 km²). 7.3 square miles (19.0 km²) of it is land and 14.6 square miles (37.9 km²) of it (66.61%) is water.^[4]

Jacksonville Beach is the largest town in the Jacksonville Beaches community. It is the eastern terminus of U.S. Route 90, which ends at an intersection with State Road A1A three blocks from the Atlantic Ocean.

View of Jacksonville Beach from the pier.

Climate

Jacksonville Beach has a humid subtropical climate.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 20,990 people, 9,715 households, and 5,207 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,732.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,055.2/km²). There were 10,775 housing units at an average density of 1,402.6 per square mile (541.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.94% White, 4.82% African American, 0.27% Native American, 1.63% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.99% of the population.

There were 9,715 households out of which 21.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.5% were married couples living together, 9.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.4% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.13 and the average family size was 2.78.

In the city the population was spread out with 18.0% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 13.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 100.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 99.7 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $46,922, and the median income for a family was $58,388 (these figures had risen to $62,897 and $80,054 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $36,385 versus $30,055 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,467. About 4.2% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Since the 1968 consolidation between Duval County and the City of Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach has been a separate municipality within the consolidated city of Jacksonville. As such, it has its own city manager, city council, and mayor, but it is subject to county-level governance by Jacksonville. The current mayor is Charlie Latham^[22] who was elected to a four-year term in November 2012.

Notable people

• Billy Horschel, professional golfer.
• Jonas Blixt, professional golfer.
• David Lingmerth, professional golfer.
• Matt Every, professional golfer.
• Francis E. Spinner, Treasurer of the United States during the Civil War.^[23]
• Ben Cooper, musician

References

External links

• City of Jacksonville Beach official website

Municipalities and communities of Duval County, Florida, United States
County seat: Jacksonville
Cities	Atlantic Beach Jacksonville Jacksonville Beach Neptune Beach
Town	Baldwin