The city of Jacksonville, Florida, began to grow in the late 18th century as Cow Ford, colonized by British colonists. Its greatest development occurred in the. Early Days · Colonial and Territorial History · Twentieth Century · Film Industry. Although the French Huguenots led by Cap.
In 1562, Jean Ribault claimed the First Coast area. It was the Spanish who first settled in the area around Jacksonville Beach, establishing missions from Mayport to St. The Spanish ceded East Florida to the English by treaty in 1763, only to regain control twenty years later. In 1821, the Spanish ceded Florida to the United States of America.
Jacksonville first became a popular tourist destination during the 1800s, when railroads led northerners to visit the sunny beaches of Florida. Jennings declared martial law in Jacksonville and sent several state militia units to help. Two settlers donated land on the north shore of Cowford to establish a “city proper” in 1822 and the site was renamed Jacksonville, after the territory's first provisional governor, Andrew Jackson, who never set foot in the city, but became the seventh U. During the war, the British defeated the Spanish in Cuba and occupied the island, while in Florida there had been hardly any fighting.
Many loyalists settled here during the War of Independence, but in 1783, the British were forced to return control of the colony of Florida to the Spanish. Florida seceded from the Union, but there was support for both the Union and the Confederacy in Jacksonville. On October 15, 1940, Jacksonville Naval Air Base (NAS Jax), on the west side, became the first naval installation in the city. As part of the negotiations between the two nations after the war, Spain would cede Florida to Great Britain in exchange for the return of Cuba. In 1884, William E.
Scull, a railroad surveyor, and his wife Eleanor moved to the area now known as Jacksonville Beach. As a port city, Jacksonville played an important role in the Union's blockade of the Confederacy and was occupied by Union troops four times. Brave and innovative African Americans have paved Jacksonville's history and are included on the Florida Heritage Trail. Hordes of train passengers passed through Jacksonville on their way south to the new tourist destinations of South Florida, as most of the passenger trains arriving from northern population centers passed through Jacksonville.
The Spanish Empire was in decline and, after several attempts to expel the Spanish from the colony of Florida, including intrusions by Andrew Jackson, Spain ceded its possessions in Florida to the United States. Jacksonville is rich in ancient Florida history, Civil War history, civil rights history, and Southern rock history. Despite the losses of recent decades, Jacksonville still has one of the largest collections of prairie-style buildings (particularly residences) outside the Midwest.
