Bayard is a historical community of
Duval County,
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 ...
, US. Originally platted in 1884, the community was a busy stopping point for tourists and industry through the early part of the 20th century. In the early 2000s, the City of Jacksonville began developing The Bayard Community Plan in an effort to preserve the character of Bayard as Jacksonville expands towards the community.
History
Bayard was a planned development platted in 1884 to serve as a midpoint between Jacksonville and
St. Augustine.
The area soon became very busy. With easy access to transportation provided by railroad and waterways and with close proximity to
sawmill
A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...
s and
turpentine
Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...
distilleries
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heating ...
, it was a convenient depot town. Tourists also used it as a rest stop, both before and after the 1934 completion of
U.S. Route 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...
.
[
The origin of Bayard's name is disputed. According to the City of Jacksonville, the community was named for ]Thomas F. Bayard
Thomas Francis Bayard (October 29, 1828 – September 28, 1898) was an American lawyer, politician and diplomat from Wilmington, Delaware. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served three terms as United States Senate, United States ...
; the Federal Writers' Project
The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a federal government project in the United States created to provide jobs for out-of-work writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), a New Deal program. It ...
, publishing in 1939, indicates the same, stating that Florida East Coast Railway
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México.
Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...
builder Henry M. Flagler
Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder ...
bestowed the name. Locals indicate instead that the community is named for Bayard Clinch, who was the son of Duncan Lamont Clinch
Duncan Lamont Clinch (April 6, 1787 – December 4, 1849) was an American army officer who served as a commander during the War of 1812, and First and Second Seminole Wars. In 1816, he led an attack on Negro Fort, the first battle of the Semin ...
, an assertion that dates back at least to 1939.
Bayard's commercial development through its early years reflects its use as a stopping point, with gift shops, restaurants and places for travelers to stay.[ Among its early historical buildings was The Bayard Inn. Opened in 1899 by Juliet Wing, a ]Union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
soldier's widow, as a combined general store and hotel, called The Wing Hotel, the Inn flourished until its closure in 1947, when it became a mix of residence and business with a post office
A post office is a public facility and a retailer that provides mail services, such as accepting letters and parcels, providing post office boxes, and selling postage stamps, packaging, and stationery. Post offices may offer additional serv ...
and brothel
A brothel, bordello, ranch, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. However, for legal or cultural reasons, establishments often describe themselves as massage parlors, bars, strip clubs, body rub par ...
on the ground floor.[ The Bayard Inn was demolished in 2005, but other historically significant buildings—including the public school reserved for use by black children—still remain.][
]
Bayard Community Plan
As commercial use in Bayard has waned and Jacksonville is expanding towards Bayard, the City of Jacksonville, with input from the Bayard community, has developed The Bayard Community Plan to maintain the character of the original community, while still allowing growth.[ As of January 2009, the plan, proposed in April 2007 with accompanying "Smartcode Development Regulations" in September 2007, was before the Land Use & Zoning Committee.][ ]
References
External links
Bayard Master Plan
City of Jacksonville.
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Neighborhoods in Jacksonville, Florida
History of Jacksonville, Florida