Jacksonville Historical Society (JHS) is a
501(c)(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
non-profit organization in
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...
, begun by 231 charter members on May 3, 1929 at the
Carling Hotel
The Carling, formerly known as the Carling Hotel and Hotel Roosevelt, is a historic building in Jacksonville, Florida, United States built in 1925. It is located at 31 West Adams Street in Downtown Jacksonville. As its former names indicates it wa ...
.
["The History of The Jacksonville Historical Society"]
Jacksonville Historical Society
History
Henry Holland Buckman
Henry Holland Buckman (1858–1914) was an attorney from Duval County, Florida, who became a member of the Florida Legislature and served on the Judiciary Committee. Buckman is known for being the author of the Buckman Act, a 1905 law that reor ...
was its first president, and its first activity was to assemble a collection of historical memorabilia, including newspapers, photographs, documents, books and correspondence covering the first one hundred years of Jacksonville. The archive is housed at
Jacksonville University
Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College u ...
, but the society is in discussions with the city to transfer the collection to the new
Jacksonville Main Library
The Jacksonville Public Library is the public library system of Jacksonville, Florida. It primarily serves Jacksonville and Duval County, and is also used by the neighboring Baker, Nassau, Clay, and St. Johns Counties. It is one of the lar ...
, where it would complement the library's Florida collection.
For its first six decades, the group was content to build an archive, publish booklets, provide research assistance and discuss the history of the first coast. There was nothing permanent—no building and the work was done by volunteers. This changed in 1988 after Sarah Van Cleve was elected president. The JHS became active in the community: the group secured office space, hired an executive director and began to raise funds for projects. It began publishing an extensive newsletter for members and expanded the Board of Directors to involve more people in the organization. The society began to identify endangered buildings that were being razed without consideration to historical significance.
Old St. Andrews
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was constructed in 1887 and was the only major church to survive Jacksonville's
Great Fire of 1901
The Great Fire of 1901 was a conflagration that occurred in Jacksonville, Florida on May 3, 1901. It was one of the worst disasters in Florida history and the third largest urban fire in the U.S., next to the Great Chicago Fire, and the 1906 S ...
. Residents in the area around the church left for the suburbs in the 1950s, and a new church was built in Arlington. It was named St. Andrews and was given the furnishings and memorials of the old St. Andrews, which was
deconsecrated
Deconsecration, also called secularization, is the act of removing a religious blessing from something that had been previously consecrated by a minister or priest of that religion. The practice is usually performed on churches or synagogues to b ...
, closed and boarded up for decades. When Jacksonville was awarded an NFL franchise in 1993, the city purchased much of the land surrounding the
Gator Bowl Stadium
The Gator Bowl was an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally built in 1927, all but a small portion was razed in 1994 in preparation for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars' inaugural season; the reconstructed stadium became Jac ...
for use in the new
Jacksonville Municipal Stadium
TIAA Bank Field is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling prom ...
, including the old church. The city gave the building to JHS on the condition that it be restored, but according to the JHS website, many people thought that the condition of the structure was beyond repair.
The society began a campaign to raise one million dollars, which was successful, thanks to a $242,000 preservation grant from the state of Florida in 1996, and a
challenge grant Challenge grants are funds disbursed by one party (the grant maker), usually a government agency, corporation, foundation or trust (sometimes anonymously), typically to a non-profit entity or educational institution (the grantee) upon completion of ...
from the Weaver Foundation. Restoration began in 1996 and was completed on April 18, 1998, with the structure becoming the new home of the Jacksonville Historical Society.
Although the JHS is no longer based in the church, it is still used as a popular venue for weddings, meetings, and other events.
Merrill House
Less than a year later, the society began its second restoration project – the relocation and renovation of the historic James E. Merrill House, built in 1879. The
Queen Anne style building was scheduled for demolition in 1999, but the city moved it from Lafayette Street to A. Philip Randolph Boulevard and renovation work began. Funding for the project was secured from private donors in addition to city and state preservation grants. The 2002 plans for the
Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville
121 Financial Ballpark (originally the Baseball Grounds of Jacksonville) is a baseball park in Jacksonville, Florida. It is the home stadium of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp Minor League Baseball team, who play in the International League. The f ...
placed the structure in left field, so it was moved again, this time next door to the Old St. Andrews Church. The work was completed in late 2005. The
Victorian era
In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
house is intended to be a museum dedicated to shipbuilding on the St. Johns River.
Old St. Lukes
On August 10, 2009, the JHS announced the pending purchase of the
Old St. Lukes Hospital and its conversion into a research and exhibition center.
[Patton, Charlie]
"Jacksonville Historical Society buys Old St. Luke's to expand"
Florida Times-Union, August 10, 2009
References
{{Authority control
Non-profit organizations based in Jacksonville, Florida
Organizations established in 1929
History of Jacksonville, Florida
Historical societies in Florida
Charities based in Florida
1929 establishments in Florida