Atlantic Beach is a city in Duval County,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States and part of the

Jacksonville Beaches The Jacksonville Beaches, or Jax Beaches known locally as "The Beaches", are a group of towns and communities on the northern half of an unnamed barrier island on the US state of Florida's First Coast, all of which are excluded cities or parts of ...

communities. When the majority of communities in Duval County consolidated with

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

in 1968, Atlantic Beach, along with

Jacksonville Beach Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated on May 22, 1907, as Pablo Beach, and would later change its name to Jacksonville Beach in 1925. The city is part of group of communities col ...

Neptune Beach Neptune Beach is a beachfront city east of Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida, United States. When the majority of Duval County communities consolidated with Jacksonville in 1968, Neptune Beach, along with Jacksonville Beach, Atlantic Beach ...

, and Baldwin, remained quasi-independent. Like the other towns, it maintains its own municipal government, but its residents vote in the Jacksonville mayoral election and have representation on the Jacksonville city council. The population was 12,655 at the 2010 census.

History

In 1900 Henry Flagler built the Mayport branch of the railroad and erected a station north of where the Adele Grage Cultural Center is currently located. Soon afterwards Flagler built a large hotel called the Continental Hotel on the railroad line between Pablo Beach (

) and Mayport. The hotel was a summer resort with 250 guest rooms. There was also a dance pavilion, tennis courts and a fishing pier. In 1913 the railroad sold most of the land to the Atlantic Beach Corporation which then began paving streets, installing lights, and water and sewer lines. In that same year the Continental Hotel changed its name to the Atlantic Beach Hotel. However, during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

people were afraid to come to the coast and the Atlantic Beach Corporation went bankrupt. To make matters worse the Atlantic Beach Hotel burned down on September 20, 1919. After the war land began to sell again and settlement grew. The Town of Atlantic Beach was incorporated in 1926 and the first charter was adopted in 1929. The first town hall burned down in 1932, so a new one was built later that year. The newly established

Mayport Naval Station Naval Station Mayport is a major United States Navy base in Jacksonville, Florida. It contains a protected harbor that can accommodate aircraft carrier-size vessels, ship's intermediate maintenance activity (SIMA) and a military airfield (Admi ...

and the construction of the

Mathews Bridge The Mathews Bridge is a cantilever bridge in Jacksonville, Florida, which spans the St. Johns River. Constructed in 1953, the bridge brings traffic along the Arlington Expressway between downtown Jacksonville and the Arlington neighborhood. It ...

led to further development of the town. The boundaries of Atlantic Beach were extended in 1987 with the annexation of Seminole Beach and again in 1996 by extending the westerly boundary to the Intracoastal Waterway.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (73.07%) is water.

Transportation

Major highways

* *

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

of 2000, there were 13,368 people, 5,623 households, and 3,643 families residing in the city. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was 3,584.3 inhabitants per square mile (1,383.8/km²). There were 6,003 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 82.23%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 12.69%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.26% Native American, 2.09%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 1.12% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 1.58% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 4.18% of the population. There were 5,623 households, out of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.9% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.2% were non-families. 26.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.86. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 30.9% from 25 to 44, 24.3% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males. The median income for a household in the city was $48,353, and the median income for a family was $53,854. Males had a median income of $37,438 versus $27,321 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the city was $28,618. About 5.7% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 14.3% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

Linden Ashby Clarence Linden Garnett Ashby III (born May 23, 1960) is an American actor and director. On television, he portrayed Brett Cooper on the final two seasons of the Fox soap opera ''Melrose Place'' (1997–1999) and Sheriff Noah Stilinski on all ...

(born 1960), American actor and martial artist, known for his role in MTV's Teen Wolf series (born in Atlantic Beach) *

Kyle Brady Kyle or Kyles may refer to: Places Canada * Kyle, Saskatchewan, Canada Ireland * Kyle, County Laois * Kyle, County Wexford Scotland * Kyle, Ayrshire, area of Scotland which stretched across parts of modern-day East Ayrshire and South Ayrshir ...

(born 1972), former professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player (Originally from

Camp Hill, Pennsylvania Camp Hill is a borough in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. It is southwest of Harrisburg and is part of the Harrisburg–Carlisle metropolitan statistical area. The population was 7,888 at the 2010 census. There are many large corporations bas ...

, he is currently based and lives in Atlantic Beach) *

Carey Cavanaugh Carey Edward Cavanaugh (born January 1955) is a former United States, U.S. Ambassador/peace mediator who is currently a professor of diplomacy at the University of Kentucky and chairman of International Alert, a London-based independent peacebuildi ...

(born 1955), former U.S. Ambassador/peace mediator and currently professor of diplomacy at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

and chairman of

International Alert International Alert is a global peacebuilding charity offering dialogue, training, research and policy analysis, advocacy and outreach activities focusing on solving the root causes of conflict with people from across divides. For over 30 yea ...

(grew up in Atlantic Beach) *

Paula Coughlin Paula Coughlin is a former lieutenant and naval aviator in the United States Navy. She is a whistleblower who played a role in opening investigations into what was known as the Tailhook scandal. Early life Coughlin attended Old Dominion Universi ...

(born 1962), former

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

and naval aviator in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and

whistleblower A whistleblower (also written as whistle-blower or whistle blower) is a person, often an employee, who reveals information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe or fraudulent. Whi ...

, known for her role in

Tailhook scandal The Tailhook scandal was a military scandal in which United States Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aviation officers were alleged to have sexually assaulted up to 83 women and seven men, or otherwise engaged in "improper and indecent" conduct at t ...

(currently resides in Atlantic Beach) *

Julie Nixon Eisenhower Julie Nixon Eisenhower ( Nixon; born July 5, 1948) is an American author who is the younger daughter of former U.S. president Richard Nixon and his wife Pat Nixon. Her husband David is the grandson of former U.S. president Dwight D. Eisenhower ...

(born 1948), American author, younger daughter of

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, 37th

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

, and

Pat Nixon Thelma Catherine "Pat" Nixon (''née'' Ryan; March 16, 1912 – June 22, 1993) was First Lady of the United States from 1969 to 1974 as the wife of President Richard Nixon. She also served as Second Lady of the United States from 1953 to 1961 wh ...

, First Lady of the United States and wife of

David Eisenhower Dwight David Eisenhower II (born March 31, 1948) is an American author, public policy fellow, professor at the University of Pennsylvania, and eponym of the U.S. presidential retreat Camp David. He is the grandson of President Dwight D. Eisenhow ...

, grandson of

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, 34th

(resided in Atlantic Beach during five years between 1971 and 1975) *

Pat Frank Harry Hart "Pat" Frank (May 5, 1908 – October 12, 1964) was an American writer, newspaperman, and government consultant. Frank's best known work is the 1959 ''Alas, Babylon'', and '' Forbidden Area''. Biography Frank was born in Chicago ...

(1908–1964), American writer, newspaperman, and government consultant (Originally from

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, died in Atlantic Beach) * Charles T. Meide (born 1971), American underwater and maritime archaeologist (born 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 List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, raised in Atlantic Beach) * Caitlin Parrish, American playwright, television writer, and filmmaker, co-creator of

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

The Red Line ''The Red Line'' (''Punainen viiva'') is an opera in two acts with music by Aulis Sallinen to a libretto by the composer, which premiered on 30 November 1978 at the Finnish National Opera.Arni E. The Red Line. In: ''The New Grove Dictionary of Op ...

'' (born and raised in Atlantic Beach, currently resides between

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

) * Claire Rasmus (born 1996), American freestyle swimmer and four-time Pan American Games champion (Originally from Metairie, Louisiana, currently resides in Atlantic Beach) *

Willard J. Smith Willard John Smith (May 14, 1910 – April 1, 2000) served as the 13th commandant of the United States Coast Guard from 1966 to 1970. He was born in Suttons Bay, Michigan, and was the son of Oscar Smith, a retired commissioned warrant offi ...

(1910–2000), 13th

Commandant Commandant ( or ) is a title often given to the officer in charge of a military (or other uniformed service) training establishment or academy. This usage is common in English-speaking nations. In some countries it may be a military or police ran ...

of the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

from 1966 to 1970 (Originally from

Suttons Bay, Michigan Suttons Bay is a village in Leelanau County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 618 at the 2010 census. The village was incorporated in 1898 and is located within Suttons Bay Township. History The community is named for one o ...

, died in Atlantic Beach) *

Whitney Thompson Whitney Lee Thompson Forrester (born September 26, 1987) is an American plus-size model and is the winner of the tenth cycle of '' America's Next Top Model''. Early life Before her appearance on the show, Thompson worked locally in northern F ...

(born 1987), American

plus-size model A plus-size model is an individual size 12 and above who is engaged primarily in Model (person), modeling plus-size clothing. Plus-size clothing worn by plus-size models is typically catering for and marketed to either Big & Tall or Tall or Overw ...

and is the winner of the tenth cycle of

America's Next Top Model ''America's Next Top Model'' (abbreviated ''ANTM'' and ''Top Model'') is an American reality television series and interactive competition in which a number of aspiring models compete for the title of "America's Next Top Model" and a chance to b ...

(born in Atlantic Beach) * Norvell G. Ward (1912–2005), American naval officer and a recipient of the

Navy Cross The Navy Cross is the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps' second-highest military decoration awarded for sailors and marines who distinguish themselves for extraordinary heroism in combat with an armed enemy force. The medal is eq ...

(Originally from

Indian Head, Maryland Indian Head is a town in Charles County, Maryland, United States. The population was 3,894 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It has been the site of a naval base specializing in gun and rocket propellants since 1890. Production of nitrocellulose and smok ...

, died in Atlantic Beach)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1926 establishments in Florida Beaches of Duval County, Florida Beaches of Florida Cities in Duval County, Florida Cities in Florida Cities in the Jacksonville metropolitan area Populated coastal places in Florida on the Atlantic Ocean Populated places established in 1926 Port cities and towns of the Florida Atlantic coast