Jacksonville Beach, Florida

Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,830 at the 2020 census. The city is part of a group of communities collectively referred to as the Jacksonville Beaches on the northern half of San Pablo Island. These communities include 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. As a result, citizens of Jacksonville Beach are also eligible to vote in mayoral election for the City of Jacksonville. It is part of the Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

It was incorporated on May 22, 1907, as Pablo Beach, and changed to Jacksonville Beach in 1925.

Pablo Beach

thumb|left|290px|[[United States Army|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. In 1885, the San Pablo Diego Beach Land Co. sold town lots ranging from $50 to $100 each along with lots from $10 to $20 per acre within of the new seaside resort "Pablo Beach". In September 1892, work on the wagon road to Pablo Beach (Atlantic Boulevard) was begun. 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. 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. After flooding in the camp at Pablo Beach the 3rd Nebraska moved to downtown Jacksonville.

Jacksonville Beach

thumb|Ocean View Pavilion in 1936.

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.

Pablo Beach made aviation history on February 24, 1921, Lt. William 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.

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 staple for Jacksonville Beach for 16 years until its closure in 2016. In September 1999 Hurricane Floyd destroyed the Jacksonville Beach Pier. Five years later the pier was rebuilt. In October 2016 Hurricane Matthew forced a mandatory evacuation for Jacksonville Beach. Hurricane Matthew came 40 miles off the coast of Jacksonville Beach causing major flooding. The Jacksonville Beach Pier was partially destroyed by Hurricane Matthew.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and (66.61%) is water. Constructed in 1947, the American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station is an Art Moderne style lifeguard station designed by local architect Jefferson Davis Powell. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 5, 2014. Jacksonville Beach is also home to a notable collection of Mid-Century modern architecture. Perhaps the most notable of these works are those designed by architect William Morgan.

File:Jacksonville FL Casa Marina01.jpg|Casa Marina Hotel (1925)

File:ARCVLSC Station.jpg|American Red Cross Volunteer Life Saving Corps Station (1947)

File:Jacksonville Beach City Hall.jpg|City Hall

File:Seawalk Pavilion, Jacksonville Beach.jpg|Seawalk Pavilion

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Climate

Jacksonville Beach has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa).

Parks and recreation

Hanna Park is a public beach and city park located near Mayport in the Jacksonville Beaches area. It consists of of mature coastal hammock, and was formerly known as Manhattan Beach, Florida's first beach community for African Americans during the period of segregation in the United States.

File:Jacksonville Beach Morning - panoramio.jpg|Beach access point

File:Morning Jacksonville Beach pier - panoramio.jpg|Jacksonville Beach Pier

File:Jaxville Beach Ampetheater 2.JPG|Sea Walk Pavilion

File:HannaParkBoardwalk.JPG|Hanna Park