This 1903 post office was the first stand-alone post office in Pablo Beach. It was originally located two blocks east and one block north. Mrs. Celenia Dickerson was the postmistress in this building from 1903 - 1908 . By 1917 it had been moved to Second Street South and became part of a home. In 1986 Eagle Scout Scott Chandler and his crew helped prepare the building for its move to Pablo Historical Park.
This 25 ton steam locomotive #7 was built by H. K. Porter and Company of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1911 as Serial Number 4845. It was manufactured for the W.W. Cummer & Sons Lumber Company of Dade City, Florida and operated near Lacoochee, Florida. It was used to haul pine and cypress logs in Pasco County, near Miami. This particular locomotive never ran on this line, but is typical of locomotives used to to pull a freight train or passenger train from Jacksonville to our beaches. The tools on the back of the tender are track and logging tools.
This circa 1900 building stood in Mayport as the northern most terminus point for the Florida East Coast Railway branch line to Mayport. Henry Flagler bought the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railway and extended its track eight more miles from Pablo Beach to Mayport. He was changing his railway's source of fuel from wood to bituminous coal to improve its efficiency and cost. Mayport had the needed deep water access to bring in ships from the north to provide the coal to run his trains south. It is painted the same "Flagler yellow" as all of the FECR depots.
The garden was established in 2008 by 2 Master Gardeners, Marilyn Wilson and Sylvia Simmons. In February 2008, a partnership with the Beaches Museum and the Duval County Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Program was proposed to create a Demonstration Garden. The purpose would be to demonstrate a sustainable kitchen garden, circa 1920, and to educate the community on the history of edible landscapes and sustainable garden practices. The Demonstration Garden was named the “Heritage Garden”.
The Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) constructed the Foreman House #93 in 1900. The 1 ½ story, wood frame structure in Jacksonville Beach had the same floor plan and same "Flagler yellow" paint color as all FEC foreman's houses. This house was originally located one-block west of its current location in Jacksonville Beach (then Pablo Beach). From 1915-1922, Hershel Smith, the Pablo Beach Section Foreman, lived in the house with his wife Ethel and their three children, Lynn, Jane, and Murray.
Built in 1873 by Thomas Oesterreicher from pine, cypress, and oak, the Oesterreicher-McCormick Homestead is the oldest and most recent addition to the History Park. The Palm Valley homestead is a classic example of Florida Cracker-style architecture, built from local materials to provide the most basic of shelter. The family also had a detached kitchen, as was common to keep the heat and threat of fire away from the main house. The McCormick Family, acquired the structure and surrounding property in 1936 following an earlier intermarriage with the Oesterreichers. Due to the threat from encroaching land development and as a result of efforts by the "Save the Cabin" campaign to preserve the structure, the McCormicks donated the homestead to the Beaches Museum, of which they were founding members. The cabin was transported from Palm Valley to the History Park in 2015. Following major restoration and a formal dedication, the cabin opened to the public in 2016.
St. Paul’s By-the-Sea Episcopal Church was built in 1887 in Pablo Beach (now Jacksonville Beach) at Second Street and Second Avenue South. The Carpenter Gothic style of the church was popular in the seventeen "River Churches" planted in the same era around the St. Johns River, eleven of which have survived. The church is one of the oldest surviving historical structures at the beach. It is also the most moved, having been planted in four locations, two in Jacksonville Beach and one in Neptune Beach. Its final move was from Neptune Beach to this location in 2012. The deconsecrated church is now known as Beaches Chapel and is available for rental.
During Aviation’s “Golden Age” of the 1920s, Jacksonville‘s beaches were often the site of air shows. The hard-packed beaches also became a preferred location for attempts to fly coast to coast. The first successful transcontinental flight began from the hard-packed sands of Neptune Beach. Aviation pioneer James H. Doolittle launched a his second attempt at the flight on September 4, 1922. He arrived in San Diego, California 22.5 hours later. Transcontinental flights such as these helped convince the American public that aviation could be a safe, acceptable, and accelerated form of travel. On September 4, 1980, the Society invited Lt. Gen. James Doolittle back to Jacksonville Beach to unveil and dedicate a marker honoring his historic flight in 1922.
This statue was a memorial to the infant son of aviator Charles Lindbergh, who died on March 2, 1932, as part of a botched kidnapping. This memorial was unveiled September 17, 1932 on the grounds of Jacksonville Beach Elementary School #50 (Pablo Towers sits on the site today). The 10' high stone memorial shows a cradled child above which an eagle is poised in flight. The idea was conceived by Col. J.C. Stehlin, president of the Jacksonville Beach Chamber of Commerce and spearheaded by Kate McClenny, president of the Plant-A-Rose Society (the forerunner of the Garden Club). They were assisted by Daisy Brennan, president of the Beaches Civic League, later the Beaches Woman’s Club, and Mrs. H. E. Thurman, president of the PTA. The children of the beaches brought shells and other things they treasured to be used in the base of the monument. Local sculptors created the statue. The second unveiling of the statue took place on April 28, 1984 in Pablo Historical Park.
This plaque was dedicated to Col. Howard Dunn and all prisoners of war and those missing in action on July 10, 1973. Col. Dunn was a Marine flyer who spent seven years as a prisoner of war. The plaque reads: "The Freedom Tree with the Vision of Universal Freedom for All Mankind This Tree is Dedicated to Col. Howard Dunn and All Prisoners of War and Missing In Action 1973." Participating in the ceremonies were the Marine Color Guard, Navy Band; Senator Bruce Smathers, Rev. James Tinsley, Fred Ahern, Mayors Robert Evans, Wm S. Howell and John Futch, and Col. J. Howard Dunn.
Blue Star Memorial Highways were established in 1945 to commemorate the Armed Forces of the United States. In 1994 these Blue Star markers were expanded to include National Cemeteries, parks, veterans facilities, and gardens. The Pablo Historical Park marker originally stood in the median of the Intracoastal Highway and was later moved here. The marker reads: Blue Star Memorial Highway A tribute to the Armed forces that have defended the United States of America sponsored by Ribault Garden Club in cooperation with Florida Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc. and Florida Department of Transportation
The first settlers in Jacksonville Beach were William Edward Scull, Eleanor Kennedy Scull, and their two small daughters. William Scull was a civil engineer and surveyor hired to work on the new railroad. They lived in a tent two blocks east of Pablo Historical Park. A second tent served as the general store and post office. Eleanor Scull was appointed postmaster of the area on August 22, 1884. Postal regulations required a name for the village and the Sculls chose to name it Ruby, after their eldest daughter. On May 13, 1886 the town was renamed Pablo Beach. The name was changed again to Jacksonville Beach in 1925.
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The Beaches Museum is operated by the Beaches Area Historical Society which was formed in 1978 to preserve the history of the beaches communities of Mayport, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Palm Valley, and Ponte Vedra. The Beaches Area Historical Society provides for the preservation of the historic buildings, the archives and the collection, and its availability to visitors and residents of the beaches.
