Fernandina Beach is a city in and the county seat of Nassau County, Florida, United States, in the state's northeastern corner. It is the northernmost city on Florida's Atlantic coast, situated on Amelia Island, and is one of the municipalities comprising Greater Jacksonville (formally the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area).

As of the 2020 census, Fernandina Beach had a population of 13,052.

History

The area was first inhabited by the Timucua people. Known as the "Isle of 8 Flags", Amelia Island has had the flags of the following nations flown over it: France, Spain, Great Britain, Spain (again), the Republic of East Florida (1812), the Republic of the Floridas (1817), Mexico, the Confederate States of America, and the United States.

The French, English, and Spanish all maintained a presence on Amelia Island at various times during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, but the Spanish established Fernandina. The town of Fernandina, which was about a mile from the present city, was named in honor of King Ferdinand VII of Spain by the governor of the Spanish province of East Florida, Enrique White. Fernandina has the distinction of being the last Spanish city platted in the Western Hemisphere, in 1811.

According to the 2020 census, the city population was 13,052, up from 11,487 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of Nassau County. It is also the largest incorporated city in the county, since Yulee is an unincorporated town.

thumb|right|Fernandina Beach, December 1924

Prior to the arrival of Europeans on what is now Amelia Island, Native Americans occupied the site of the original town of Fernandina. Native American bands associated with the Timucuan mound-building culture had settled on the island about 1000 CE, calling it Napoyca. They remained on the island until the early 18th century, when European settlement began.

Old Town Fernandina

On January 1, 1811, Enrique White, governor of Spain's East Florida province, named the town of Fernandina, about a mile from the present city, in honor of King Ferdinand VII. On May 10 of that year, Fernandina became the last town platted under the Laws of the Indies in the Western hemisphere. The town was intended as a bulwark against U.S. territorial expansion. In the following years, it was captured and recaptured by a succession of renegades and privateers.

Republic of East Florida

At the beginning of the Patriot War, with the approval of President James Madison and Georgia Governor George Mathews on March 13, 1812, insurgents known as the "Patriots of Amelia Island" seized the island. After raising a Patriot flag, they replaced it with the United States flag. American gunboats under the command of Commodore Hugh Campbell maintained control of the island. On May 15, 1812, the British brig. Sappho fired on Gunboat no. 168, which had fired on the loyalist merchant vessel Fernando to prevent her leaving. Outgunned, the American gunboat withdrew, which enabled several vessels to escape from the port. President Madison eventually denounced the filibustering of George Mathews, however, on the grounds that Mathews had violated his instructions.<!-- Bot generated title -->

Mexico

Spanish pressure forced the American evacuation from the island in 1813. Spanish forces erected Fort San Carlos on the island in 1816. However, A Scottish soldier and adventurer named Gregor MacGregor with 55 musketeers seized Fort San Carlos in 1817, claiming the island on behalf of "the brethren of Mexico, Buenos Ayres, New Grenada and Venezuela", and raised the Green Cross of Florida flag over the Spanish Fort San Carlos.

MacGregor claimed to be Brigadier General of the armies of the United Provinces of New Grenada and Venezuela (where he had successfully fought and led troops), and General-in-Chief of the armies for the two Floridas, commissioned by the Supreme Director of Mexico.

Civil War

thumb|right|190px|Inside [[Fort Clinch]]

On January 8, 1861, two days before Florida's secession, Confederate sympathizers (the Third Regiment of Florida Volunteers) took control of Fort Clinch, already abandoned by the Federal workers who had been enlarging the structure. The Confederates erected batteries on the northern end of Amelia Island but lacked the resources to fortify Fort Clinch. Robert E. Lee, who was commanding coastal defenses in the Deep South, ordered cannons and troops withdrawn in early 1862.

Lee's orders to withdraw the cannons and troops were too late. Union forces, consisting of 28 gunboats commanded by Commodore Samuel Dupont, occupied the island on March 3, 1862, and raised the American flag. In January 1863, the first all-black regiment of former slaves recruited to fight for the Union was read Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation at Fernandina. Three weeks later they set sail up the St. Marys River to engage the Confederate forces. The Union used the fort as a base for its operations in the area for the remainder of the war.

Geography

Fernandina Beach is located approximately 25 miles (40&nbsp;km) northeast of downtown Jacksonville.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all land. It is the northernmost city on the eastern coast of Florida.

Climate

Fernandina Beach has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) with long, hot, and rainy summers and short, mild winters.

Economy

In 2020, the total value of products produced in Fernandina Beach, Florida was $87.9 million.

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable"

|+Fernandina Beach racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>

!Race

!Pop 2010

!Pop 2020

!% 2010

!% 2020

|-

|White (NH)

|9,216

|10,633

|80.23%

|81.47%

|-

|Black or African American (NH)

|1,320

|1,001

|11.49%

|7.67%

|-

|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)

|38

|17

|0.33%

|0.13%

|-

|Asian (NH)

|131

|114

|1.14%

|0.87%

|-

|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)

|9

|21

|0.08%

|0.16%

|-

|Some other race (NH)

|16

|38

|0.14%

|0.29%

|-

|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)

|147

|407

|1.28%

|3.12%

|-

|Hispanic or Latino (any race)

|610

|821

|5.31%

|6.29%

|-

|Total

|11,487

|13,052

|100.00%

|100.00%

|-

|}

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Fernandina Beach had a population of 13,052. The median age was 58.4 years. 12.8% of residents were under the age of 18 and 36.4% were 65 years of age or older.

For every 100 females there were 87.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 85.6 males age 18 and over.

There were 6,063 households in Fernandina Beach, of which 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 49.9% were married-couple households, 15.2% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 30.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

In 2020, 4.0% of residents were under 5 years old, 49.8% of the population were female, and there were 1,576 veterans living in the city. 8.8% of residents were foreign born, 9.4% of those under age 65 lived with a disability, and 15.1% of those under age 65 did not have health insurance. There were 2.12 persons per household.

In 2020, 81.0% of housing units were owner-occupied. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $356,600, and the median gross rent was $1,041. The median household income was $80,260 with a per capita income of $50,051. 10.2% of the population lived below the poverty threshold.

Ethnicity

As of 2016, the largest self-reported ancestries/ethnicities in Fernandina Beach, Florida (excluding Hispanic/Latino groups) were:

{| class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="font-size: 90%;"

|-

! Largest ancestries (2016) !! Percent

|-

| English || 14.7%

|-

| American || 14.5%

|-

| German || 12.6%

|-

| Irish || 10.2%

|-

| Italian || 5.2%

|-

| French || 3.3%

|-

| Polish || 3.0%

|-

| Scottish || 2.1%

|-

| Scots-Irish (Ulster/Northern Ireland) || 2.1%

|-

| Dutch || 1.4%

|-

| Welsh || 1.3%

|-

| Norwegian || 1.2%

|-

| Russian || 0.6%

|-

| French Canadian / || 0.5%

|-

| Swedish || 0.5%

|-

| Hungarian || 0.5%

|}

Government and infrastructure

Nassau County Fire Rescue operates Station 20 on the south end of Amelia Island, as well as Station 70 Oneil.

The Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport is a general aviation airfield approximately three miles south of the city that serves Amelia Island.

Education

thumb|[[Fernandina Beach High School]]

The public schools of Fernandina Beach are part of the Nassau County School District. They include:

  • Southside Elementary School (Pre-K–2)
  • Emma Love Hardee Elementary School (3–5)
  • Fernandina Beach Middle School (6–8)
  • Fernandina Beach High School (9–12)thumb|Fernandina Beach Christian Academy

Private schools:

  • Amelia Island Montessori School (Preschool–8)
  • Fernandina Beach Christian Academy (K–8)
  • St. Michael's Academy (Pre-K–8)

Note: Atlantic Elementary (2nd and 3rd grades) was closed at the end of the 2008 school year. After the closing, 2nd grade was moved to Southside and 3rd grade to Emma Love. Also, the private Catholic school, St. Michael's Academy, is in downtown Fernandina Beach. All three Fernandina Beach public schools are "A" rated by the State of Florida. The nickname of Fernandina Beach High School's athletic teams is the "Pirates". Amelia Island Montessori School is near American Beach and is accredited by the Florida Council of Independent Schools and is an associate member school with the American Montessori Society.

Library

Nassau County Public Library operates the Fernandina Beach Branch which is located at 25 N. 4th Street. This is the main branch in the library system with a variety of services. The library also is a passport acceptance facility. This location underwent major renovations beginning in 2014 through early 2015, but is still currently located in the historic downtown area.

Notable people

  • William B. Allen, chairman of the United States Commission on Civil Rights from 1988 to 1989
  • Aaron Bean, U.S. representative
  • Liberty Billings, Reconstruction era politician
  • Raymond A. Brown, attorney
  • George Rainsford Fairbanks, a Confederate Major in the U.S. Civil War and Florida State Senator.
  • Joseph Finegan, Brigadier general for the Confederate States Army
  • Katrina Foster, Lutheran bishop
  • Broadway Jones, singer and jazz musician
  • Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, wife of slave trader and planter Zephaniah Kingsley
  • Samuel Petty, politician
  • Rick Stockstill, football head coach at Middle Tennessee
  • David Levy Yulee, first U.S. Senator from Florida and builder of Florida's first cross-state railroad

Attractions

The 1988 fantasy film The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking was filmed in Fernandina Beach and at soundstages in Jacksonville. The house that stood in for Villa Villekulla, Pippi's home, is known locally as Captain Bell's House and is on Estrada Street in the Old Town area directly across from the Fernandina Plaza (parade ground for the Spanish fort) and overlooking the Amelia River.

The Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival occurs annually over the first weekend in May. Events and activities of the festival include vendors with seafood, arts, crafts, collectibles and antiques, live music, the Miss Shrimp Festival pageant, a fireworks display and a parade.

Historic places

  • Original Town of Fernandina Historic Site
  • Fairbanks House
  • Historic Nassau County Courthouse
  • United States Post Office, Custom House, and Courthouse (Fernandina, Florida, 1912)
  • Fort Clinch State Park
  • See National Register of Historic Places listings in Nassau County, Florida

References

  • City of Fernandina Beach
  • Fernandina Beach News-Leader, full text with full page images, freely available in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library
  • Fernandina Express, 1880s historic newspaper freely available with full text and full page images in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library
  • http://www.floridastateparks.org/fortclinch/default.cfm , the State's official web site for Fort Clinch