Blog – Page 6 – Jacksonville History Center

Menu

Blog

There’s History in Our Streets

1 Jun 2025

Nancy Gandy

From the Archive

Jacksonville street names evoke decades of city history, beginning with the Hogans and the Hart families in the early 1800s. Did you know Bay Street was Jacksonville’s original “main” street and Main Street was Pine?

An Ambitious Enterprise

1 Jun 2025

Alan Bliss

From the CEO

Historic renovations are full of surprises…and few of them are good. Renovation of the Casket Factory building threw some curveballs at the architects and construction crews, but the project was completed in one year.

Jacksonville Begins Rebuilding Morning After Great Fire

1 May 2025

Nancy Gandy

From the Archive

The devasting Great Fire of May 3, 1901, became a showcase of the courage and resilience of Jacksonville’s citizens, who began the city’s rebirth the next day. Eight months later, the Windsor Hotel re-opened.

Looking at Our Future

1 May 2025

Alan Bliss

From the CEO

Four years away from its centennial, the Jacksonville History Center is the only professional public history organization serving all of Duval County, offering authentic representations of the people, places, and events of Jacksonville’s past.

The Shipbuilder’s Daughter: Helen Joanna Merrill

1 Apr 2025

Nancy Gandy

From the Merrill House Museum

Twice widowed, shipbuilder’s daughter Helen Joanna Merrill Slappey was noted as a humanitarian among Jacksonville’s medical community, organizing occupational therapy programs and campaigning for the Duval Medical Center’s occupational therapy building.

History Never Dies: Evergreen Cemetery, Part II

1 Apr 2025

Emily Cottrell

From the Archive

Founded in 1880, Evergreen Cemetery honors its long history while still operating as an active cemetery, funeral home and crematory. Over the years, sections were acquired from the Catholic, Jewish and African American communities.