Director

In 1944 the New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs established a Blue and Gold Star Memorial Marker program to honor veterans of all branches of the Armed Forces of the United States. The following year this program was expanded by the National Council of State Garden Clubs into a Blue Star Highway system. Adopted by individual States, these markers are now found throughout the Continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii.The “Blue Star” reflects the small banners seen during World War II in windows of homes with family members in Service. If one of those soldiers, sailors, or airmen were killed, the Blue Star was covered with a slightly smaller Gold Star. These banners were abundant during World War II and the Korean Conflict, occasionally seen during the Vietnam War era, and have experienced a slight revival since 9-11 and the War on Terror.The Beaches area has a long tradition of supporting the military forces. In the Second World War alone, beach citizens saw service in each branch of the Armed Forces, and the Merchant Marines. One citizen lost his life on active service with the Royal Canadian Air Force.The Blue Star Memorial Highway banner on the Museum’s grounds is a fine reflection of the beaches area citizens’ dedication to community, state, and national Service.There are additional memorials to those who lost their lives in World War II two blocks east of the Beaches Museum at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Second Street North.

Blue Star Memorial Highway Historical Marker

World War II Memorial at Beach Blvd. & 2nd Ave. N.

Jacksonville Beach Heroes of World War II at Beach Blvd. & 2nd. Ave N.

 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


Museum First FloorLobby: The lobby is used to greet visitors, houses the Visitor Center (the only Visit Jacksonville visitor center at the beaches), and is additional space for temporary exhibits that rotate 4 times per year. The lobby also features a 1949 A. E. Backus painting. Mr. Backus is known as the mentor of many of the Highwaymen artists, a group of Florida landscape painters.[i]Dickinson Gallery: The Dickinson Gallery is a temporary exhibition space. Exhibits change in the gallery about four times a year; the exhibits alternate between historical exhibits created by the Museum or by a local organization and art exhibits featuring local artists.    George A. Pritchard Gallery: The George A. Pritchard Gallery houses the permanent exhibit “Shore Stories Down the Boardwalk” that tells the story of Northeast Florida’s history and culture. “Shore Stories” tells the story of the beaches in three ways: through an introductory video, each community’s unique history, and overriding historical themes. Museum Second Floor Archive Reading Room: The reading room can be accessed by appointment for those doing research or looking through the materials easily accessible in the library. The Archive Reading Room contains easy access books, periodicals, Fletcher High School annuals and research information. The staff offices and the storage areas for the Archives and collections are also upstairs; these are not normally public areas. The Archive includes paper objects, records, maps, photographs, negatives, manuscripts, and personal and business records. The Collections of the Museum includes physical objects significant to the six communities.  Pablo Historical ParkThe Pablo Historical Park was set aside as a park by the City of Jacksonville Beach on May 7, 1979. It is used for the display and presentation of items of historical significance and interest to the public. The land comprising of the park was originally part of the Florida East Coast Railway right-of-way. All of the buildings were moved to this site. Beaches Museum is much more than a place that preserves history. The museum hosts chapel concerts, boardwalk talks, field trips, and community events throughout the year. Springing the Blooms, Train Day, Fletcher All Class Reunion, Polar Express, and Christmas in the Cabin are just a few of the annual events on campus. The facilities are also available for private events including corporate gatherings and weddings. The museum has also recently expanded its online presence to allow access to the Beaches Area history to people around the world.

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. 






William Scull was born in Dent, Ohio on October 8, 1858. When he was fourteen years old, his family moved to Jacksonville. His stepfather, James Beatty, owned a strawberry farm and William worked on the farm. He also attended school and eventually completed training to become a surveyor. Eleanor Kennedy was born in Washington, Indiana on May 27, 1861. Eleanor was also fourteen years old when her family decided to move due to her mother’s ill health. The Midwest winters were harsh and they wanted to live in a warm climate. By chance Eleanor’s father, D. H. Kennedy, was shown a strawberry the family doctor received in the mail from Beatty’s farm. Kennedy was so impressed that within days the family moved to Jacksonville.After moving to Jacksonville in February 1875, Eleanor Kennedy met William Scull. They were married in Jacksonville on October 14, 1879. Their first child, Ruby was born in 1882 and their second child, Bessie, was born in 1884. In 1883 construction of the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad was begun to serve the undeveloped beach area. The track was narrow-gauge, running 16.54 miles from the south bank of the St. Johns River to the beach. Eleanor’s father, D. H. Kennedy, was a civil engineer surveying the railway right-of-way and he hired his son-in-law, William, as a surveyor. In October 1884, Eleanor and William temporarily closed their Jacksonville family home and moved with their two young daughters to what eventually became Jacksonville Beach. Bessie was only six weeks old at the time.Initially the family lived on the beach near Pablo Avenue in a tent with a palmetto-roofed kitchen. A second tent served as a general store and post office. Eleanor operated the store and was appointed postmaster on August 22, 1884. The post office was named Ruby after their infant daughter. Mail was dispatched by horse and buggy up the beach, at low tide, to Mayport, and by a steamer from there to Jacksonville.In February 1885 the Sculls replaced their tent home with a house built from lumber salvaged from a shipwreck. This house, the first house built in what is now Jacksonville Beach, existed for many years. After the Sculls moved, it was sold repeatedly. It became a boarding house called, “Dixie House.” In 1938 it was destroyed by fire.In 1887, the railroad was complete and Ruby was then renamed Pablo Beach by the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad. The next year, the Sculls moved back to their Jacksonville home and, except for occasional visits, the Scull family did not return to the beach. They lived in Jacksonville where, by 1899, the family grew to include four more children. William died on February 25, 1927 and Eleanor died on December 29, 1949.

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.

First Settlers at Ruby, Florida Historical Marker

In 1944 the New Jersey Council of Garden Clubs established a Blue and Gold Star Memorial Marker program to honor veterans of all branches of the Armed Forces of the United States. The following year this program was expanded by the National Council of State Garden Clubs into a Blue Star Highway system. Adopted by individual States, these markers are now found throughout the Continental United States, Alaska, and Hawaii. The “Blue Star” reflects the small banners seen during World War II in windows of homes with family members in Service. If one of those soldiers, sailors, or airmen were killed, the Blue Star was covered with a slightly smaller Gold Star. These banners were abundant during World War II and the Korean Conflict, occasionally seen during the Vietnam War era, and have experienced a slight revival since 9-11 and the War on Terror. The Beaches area has a long tradition of supporting the military forces. In the Second World War alone, beach citizens saw service in each branch of the Armed Forces, and the Merchant Marines. One citizen lost his life on active service with the Royal Canadian Air Force. The Blue Star Memorial Highway banner on the Museum’s grounds is a fine reflection of the beaches area citizens’ dedication to community, state, and national Service. There are additional memorials to those who lost their lives in World War II two blocks east of the Beaches Museum at the corner of Beach Boulevard and Second Street North.

Lt. J. Howard Dunn's Silver Star Citation reads: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity while interned as a Prisoner of War in North Vietnam from December 1965 to October 1966. After his aircraft was shot down, Lieutenant Colonel (then Major) Dunn evaded capture by the enemy in North Vietnam for six days. Once placed in a prison camp, the tenacity and indomitable spirit he showed during those six days became the trademark of his resolve. Lieutenant Colonel Dunn steadfastly refused to cooperate with his captors and was subjected to severe cruelties. Thwarting every attempt of the enemy to break his resistance, he gave his fellow prisoners an exemplary standard upon which to base their own conduct. Although Lieutenant Colonel Dunn aroused the fury of his captors by his resistance, the level of his courage and doggedness matched the increasing intensity of maltreatment levied upon him by the enemy, who ignored international agreements concerning the treatment of POW's. His resolve and determination provided the highest form of leadership and personal example. By his sheer determination and professionalism under the most adverse of conditions, Lieutenant Colonel Dunn displayed devotion not only to the United States but also to his fellow prisoners; thereby reflecting great credit upon himself and upholding the highest traditions of the Marine Corps, the Naval Service, and the United States Armed Forces.

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. 

Freedom Tree Memorial

During the “Saturday in the Park” event on April 28, 1984, the Beaches Area Historical Society proudly unveiled and dedicated their newest acquisition: the 1932 Lindbergh Baby Memorial. The jagged, off-white, stone carving makes it one of the more unique historical objects that the Beaches Museum possesses. Towering at 10 feet high, the stone memorial depicts a cradled child above which an eagle is poised in flight. The dedication of the memorial represented another step in growth for the Society, however; the memorial itself represented a time of mourning. The kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr.–the infant son of the famous 1920s Pilot Charles Lindbergh and wife, Ann Lindbergh–sent shockwaves across the nation and even into Jacksonville Beach. Not long after the news broke of the discovery of the child’s lifeless body on May 12, 1932, Jacksonville Beach resident Kate McClenny sought a means of commemorating the tragedy. McClenny, president of the Plant-A-Rose Society (the forerunner of the Garden Club) collaborated with the president of Jacksonville Beach Chamber of Commerce, Col. J.C. Stehlin. She initially suggested that “a mound of shells be gathered by the school children as a tribute.” The state was created by the Cianca family, Italian immigrants to Jacksonville Beach. The commemorative statue itself was later unveiled on September 17, 1932 on the grounds of Jacksonville Beach Elementary School #50 at the corner of Second Street and Second Avenue, across from the then St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, where Pablo Towers sits today. With the help of Daisy Brennan, president of the Beaches Civic League, later the Beaches Woman’s Club, and Mrs. H. E. Thurman, president of the PTA they organized a ceremonious unveiling. Children of the Beaches Area brought sea shells and other items they treasured to lay at the base of the monument. In 1971, the memorial was nearly destroyed when the school was demolished. There is still question as to where the memorial was relocated to and who possessed it before the Society acquired it in 1983. There are several stories that account for the 12 year gap in the memorial’s whereabouts. One story tells of how Charles Newberry Moore Jr. of B. B. McCormick &amp; Sons Co. saved the memorial from a wrecking ball when they were tearing down the old Jacksonville Beach Elementary school. A second account details how the memorial sat in a small park on Penman Road where the old Women’s Club met. The third story was that the city called the Society about a“mysterious” sculpture with a 1932 plaque set to be destroyed. The final rumor specifies it sat in a city storage area called the “Graveyard.” Wherever the memorial sat in limbo, J.T. McCormick somehow got word of the memorial. After acquiring it, the Society allowed it to become a Boy Scout’s restoration project and relocated it to the Pablo Historical Park in late 1983 so they could ceremoniously rededicate the memorial in 1984.

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.

Lindbergh Memorial to Children Statue

The 1920s were the Golden Age of aviation in America. This was a time when flyers were romantic, adventurous, swashbuckling pioneers. They earned reputations for daring and courage, when the possibility of a violent, fiery death was accepted as an occupational hazard.The beaches of Jacksonville often served as a takeoff or landing location for early pilots due to the shoreline’s wide, naturally hard packed sand and hospitable year-round weather. The local Board of Trade sponsored air shows to draw tourists to the beaches. At last one air flight from the beaches ended with a disastrous crash.The first successful flight across the United States began in Los Angeles and ended at Pablo Beach (now Jacksonville Beach) in 1912, after a 115 day trek. For a decade, these flights continued with sporadic success. Pablo Beach was a favorite spot because of similar East West latitudes to San Diego.Army Lieutenant James Doolittle was already known for his bravery in the air when he made his attempt at a transcontinental flight on September 4, 1922 from Neptune Beach, which was then part of the town of Pablo Beach. He successfully launched his Great War DeHavilland DH-4 bi-plane into the air and flew what became Interstate I-10. He made a single stop at Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas for fueling and maintenance and landed in San Diego 22.5 hours after take-off. Doolittle’s feat established a new speed record and helped demonstrate the potential for civilian transcontinental flights. Doolittle’s aviation accomplishments continued through his life in both military and commercial careers. Only four months after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, using his mastery of aviation skill, knowledge of mechanics, and intrepid imagination, LTC Doolittle organized and led a psychologically crucial aerial attack against Tokyo and other targets in the heart of Japan. The “Doolittle Raid” by an unprecedented launching of U.S. Army bombers from the USN aircraft carrier Hornet was a daring operation which boosted American morale and precipitated Japan’s disastrous attempt to seize Midway Island. For his courage and skills, James Doolittle was promoted to Brigadier General and awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

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.

Doolittle's 1922 Record Flight Historical Marker

Episcopalians originally met in the Murray Hall Hotel in Pablo Beach in 1886, but just for a short time as the church was built in 1887. There was great missionary zeal for Episcopal church planting in the area in the 1870s and 1880s. The Carpenter Gothic style was the most popular. Architect and Amelia Island resident Robert S. Schuyler used that style for the Pablo Beach church with its characteristic steeply pitched roof, cross-gables, decorated vergeboards, and pointed-arched windows. The church was located at Second Street and Second Avenue South. In 1952, the congregation moved it to 11th Avenue North and Fifth Street in Jacksonville Beach. In 1970, the chapel was moved to 610 Florida Boulevard in Neptune Beach. Its final move occurred in 2012, when it came to its present location.The stained glass windows are not original to the Chapel. Local lore has it that a priest after 1949 grew tired of the congregation being distracted by the ocean outside the windows and had the clear glass changed to marbled translucent glass. The six-pointed window above the door represents the Old and New Testaments. The bell tower was originally on the north side of the building. Sometime while in Neptune Beach, the tower was removed. The Beaches Museum restored the tower with generous donations to the Save the Chapel campaign.Currently, the Beaches Chapel is used for music concerts and lectures. It is also available to rent for events such as weddings and vow renewals, as well as religious services.The Carpenter Gothic (CG) architectural is a style characterized by it’s distinctive use of wood in small, long, narrow churches with sharp triangular roofs constructed out of heartwood. The style began to grow in popularity in New England in the later 19th century with the help of renowned architect Alexander Davis who focused on designing secular structures such as home. It would be Richard Upjohn and Frank Wills, two British architects, that would popularize Carpenter Gothic churches in the American South. Upjohn’s 1852 book, Rural Architecture, laid out an outline of carpenter gothic churches that would become foundational for future churches designed in that particular style. During the Gilded Age, when the Episcopal Church was rapidly expanding and sending missions into the newly developing Florida, Bishop John Young was inspired by Upjohn’s design and quickly built similar churches all across the state.The Carpenter Gothic style has its roots in the English Gothic style and was the product of the more traditional English variant mixing with American tastes and preferences in the 19th century. Even further back, the English gothic style was an offshoot of medieval designs for cathedrals. Carpenter Gothic churches still retain many of the conventions of their processors with slender profiles and acute angles although, as mentioned prior, they are built out of wood instead of the more traditional stone. While recognizable in its own right, Carpenter Gothic is considered an prolific example of vernacular architecture, being architecture that does not fall into an established architectural tradition and construction is conducted without professional guidance that has an overall focus on the needs of the community at large.While there is still variety among Carpenter Gothic churches, most of them share a significant amount of features. Churches were painted either light brown or gray at their construction, but most have since been repainted white. Altars are placed at the liturgical east end of the church and the entrance is always at the altar’s opposite end. The entrance of the church typically features double leaf doors with a rough ‘A’ shape, also known as a gothic point. In the past few decades, many of these doors have been painted red to symbolize Passover. Stained glass quarry and figurative windows decorate the walls of churches, with newly build churches using various cloths as place holders until the expensive windows could be funded and completed. As for the interior, the ceilings are typically open with the ridge beam, rafters, purlins, and sheathing boards exposed. Fitting with the style’s compact design philosophy, floor plans are often rectangular while some use a more ancient cruciform pattern. A central aisle and bells placed somewhere in or around the church are also staples of the carpenter gothic style. Most of the churches built in this style are survivors and revivals of churches built in in the 19th century and those that remain today could have been easily recognized by their original congregations.

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.

1887 St. Paul's by the Sea Episcopal Chapel

The restored cabin displays the typical period "Cracker Style" country architecture: a metal (originally tin) covering over cypress shakes roofing, multiple windows for cross ventilation, and dual porches. The original homestead also included a physically detached kitchen that both reduced interior cabin temperatures and the fire hazard to the main building. An opened ceiling exposing wooden roof supports, a fireplace, and hand-made family table are authentic to the original structure. Other interior items representative of the era include a metal bath tub and pie cabinet. As in today homes, family photographs are prominently exhibited throughout the cabin. Those portraits, combined with cabin size and remoteness of the original location, hint at the lifestyle typical of rural northeast Florida around the turn of the 20th century. Early life for the eleven-member Oesterreicher family consisted of long days and short nights devoted almost exclusively to subsistence living. The family -- children included -- hunted native animals and feral hogs, raised cattle left by the Spanish, gardened, cooked, sewed and mended clothes, and maintained the homestead. The children attended school i n Pablo Beach and made a long daily trek. Harvesting and selling palm fronds provided income that was used to purchase condiments, fabric, and other goods and services available in Jacksonville. When not working, the family gathered on the porch during the summer, the long table at other times, visited family and neighbors, and attended a monthly Saturday-night dance in Pablo Beach.    A more detailed account of the Oesterreichers and Northeast Florida country life as told by youngest son Hugie and his wife Oleta to their daughter Michel is available in a book written by Ms. Oesterreicher. It is titled "Pioneer Family". The book, cited below, is available for purchase in the museum gift shop. In addition to its historic significance, the Oesterreicher-McCormick Homestead, with its modern air-conditioning, drinking fountains, bathrooms, and ADA-compliant ramps, serves as a ready room for brides and their wedding parties preparing for the exchange of vows in the museum's historic Chapel. Chapel concert performers also use the cabin as a green room. "Christmas in the Cabin", is a popular annual event open to the public, and is the theme of a private, catered dinner for 12 that is a recurring live auction item at the museum's major yearly fundraiser.

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.

1873 Oesterreicher - McCormick Homestead

In 1900 the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railway Company (JARC) was purchased by Henry M. Flagler. The JARC narrow gauge rails were converted to the more substantial “standard gauge” and the line was extended to Mayport. The standard gauge rails could carry stronger locomotives, larger, heavier cars with increased carrying capacity. Standard gauge could also transport the more luxurious rail cars preferred by the guests of the area's elite hotels.As a result, Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) constructed this 1 ½ story, wood frame structure in 1900. FEC Foreman’s House #93 was built as a residence for a section foreman. Each section foreman was responsible for approximately 17 miles of FEC track. Hershel Smith, the Pablo Beach Section Foreman whose history is best known, lived in this house with his wife Ethel and their three children, Lynn, Jane, and Murray, from 1915-1922.  All the FEC foreman houses from Northeast Florida to Key West were built using the same floor plan which included two bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and attic. The houses were all painted the same "Flagler yellow" as the train depots. The house had no electricity and no indoor plumbing. Water was drawn from a pitcher pump in the back yard. The house was heated by a coal or wood stove in the living room and a wood stove in the kitchen was used for cooking. An ice box was used to help preserve perishable food. In 1916 this house was valued at $997 and $1,702 in 1923. The original house did not have a front porch.The Florida East Coast Railroad’s passenger service to the beaches continued until 1932. In 1933, after the railroad was no longer in service to the beach, the Foreman’s House was sold at auction. William T. Brown purchased the house for $60 and he subsequently installed plumbing and electricity. The house was originally located on the northwest corner of Railroad Avenue (now Beach Blvd.) and 6th Street North. Mr. Brown moved the house to First Street South in Jacksonville Beach where it was used as a private home. In December, 1978, he donated the house to the Beaches Area Historical Society. It was moved for the third time to Pablo History Park in 1979.

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.

1900 Pablo Beach Florida East Coast Railway Foreman's House #93

Today the Heritage Garden consists of 6 garden areas in the Beaches Historical Park.The Bromeliad or Shade Garden is located next to the Foreman’s House back porch. There are 20 varieties of colorful Bromeliad plants in this garden area.The Herb Garden occupies a quarter circle space across from the cabin. This garden offers a sampling of herbs for culinary uses as well as a selection of herbs having a history of medicinal uses.The Vegetable Garden occupies the fenced-in area on the west side of the Foreman’s House. This garden replicates a circa 1920 kitchen garden. The purpose is to demonstrate and educate the community on the history of edible landscape and sustainable garden practices which include utilizing organic amendments, crop rotation, and solarization.The Perennial Garden is located on both sides of the Foreman’s House front porch and along the east side of the building. The garden consists of Florida Native and Heritage plants seen in the Beaches area in the 1920s. An interesting plant is the Coontie Palm which dates back to Florida’s earliest residents who crudely processed the plant to make a starch that was used to make bread.The Rose Garden is between the Foreman’s House and the Depot building. This garden provides a variety of beautiful roses from the early 19th century to the present day. Some favorites are Assesblage de Beaut which is a small pink rose, Hybrid Tea-Folklore (1977) and Hybrid Angel Garden rose.The Butterfly Garden is the area along the west and southwest sides of the Depot building. This garden is dedicated to providing habitat, nectar and host plants for butterflies in our Beaches area. The garden has 5 varieties of Milkweed, 2 are native to Florida, along with numerous other plants to attract pollinators.The Heritage Garden is an award winning garden, recognized in 2008 by the City of Jacksonville as an outstanding example in “Greenspace Additions”. In 2012 the garden was awarded the distinguished “Outstanding Demonstration Garden Award” for its exceptional educational impact and contributions to the goals of community education by the UF/IFAS Florida Master Gardener Volunteer Program. Today 30 Master Gardener Volunteers maintain the Heritage Garden giving over 2,000 volunteer hours annually.

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”.

Heritage Garden

This depot served the Mayport branch of the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR). The branch operated from 1900—1932. In FECR lore and history, there is something special about the Mayport branch. The Mayport branch was, for some years, a fairly heavy commuter operation with numerous stations. It was the only FECR branch for which separate passenger timetables were issued. Because Flagler believed so strongly that Mayport area would be a major summer resort, he built the FECR Hotel Company’s only summer-season property, the Continental, in Atlantic Beach with its own depot.  The lower portion of the building contains the station master’s office, ticket booth, and passenger waiting room. In 1900, a one day round trip excursion ticket from Jacksonville to Mayport cost 50 cents, which is equivalent to $15.36 in 2020 money. The station master’s office equipment included a telegraph, essential to the streamlined and safe movement of the railroad. The upper portion of the building is the freight room. The double door on the front allowed for freight to be off-loaded directly into the room. Double doors on the back were used for pick-up. The thousands of packages people sent daily that were too large for the U.S. mail went by railway express. In small depots like Mayport, the stationmaster’s duties included serving as express agent. After the rail line ceased operation to Mayport in 1932, this building was used as part of a home and a bar and restaurant. It was moved from the port area in Mayport to the end of Pearl Street, and finally to the Beaches Museum in 1981.

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.

1900 Mayport Florida East Coast Railway Depot

Steam Locomotives are identified by their wheel configuration. Our steam locomotive would be called a “2-6-0” indicating two wheels in the front, six under the boiler, and none under the cab. It has a wood tender (storage) car directly behind it. In the very front is a cattle guard (or cow catcher) which was used to gently push animals or fallen trees off the tracks. Cattle were allowed to free range in Florida until 1949. Operating this locomotive required two people in the cab: the engineer and the fireman. The engineer sat on the right side of the cab. He controlled the direction, speed, and brake. The fireman would be on the left side of the locomotive cab. He would keep the fire box in the center fueled with wood from the tender. The locomotive and tender is currently displayed near the original location of the 1886 railroad tracks laid to Jacksonville Beach (then Pablo Beach). The tracks ran down what is now Beach Boulevard. The 1886 tracks laid by the Jacksonville and Atlantic (J &amp; A) Railroad were narrow gauge. In 1900 the Florida East Coast Railway (FECR) purchased the J &amp; A Railroad. The FECR changed the narrow gauge track to standard gauge track and extended the line northward to Mayport (see the Mayport Upper Depot for more information). Narrow gauge rail lines included a variety of sizes, such as 3'.6”. Standard gauge lines are 4'.8 1/2” wide. Standard gauge track was becoming more popular because they allowed trains to travel at higher speeds and handle more weight. A lumber freight train, such as the one in our enclosure, would have definitely needed rail with the strength to carry great weight. This locomotive was donated to the Beaches Museum in 1981 by the City of St. Augustine where it had been on display for 21 years. It was moved here from St. Augustine in 1982.

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.

1911 Steam Locomotive #7

In 1884 entrepreneur John Christopher began developing what is now Jacksonville Beach. His plan was to build a railroad connecting Jacksonville to the undeveloped beach front, as well as building a luxury hotel. Since the beach had no buildings yet, tents were used for housing and administrative purposes, including the post office. Eleanor Kennedy Scull served as the first postmaster, running it out a tent primarily used as a general store.By 1886 the Jacksonville and Atlantic rail line was completed connecting South Jacksonville to Ruby Beach (later to be renamed Pablo Beach). Christopher also built the luxurious Murray Hall Hotel at the oceanfront and the post office moved into the newly constructed hotel. In 1890 the Murray Hall Hotel burned down and postal service was carried out in other local businesses, including the Dickerson’s General Store. Celenia Columbia Dickerson was postmaster from 1896 – 1909.In 1902, Dickerson paid for the construction of the first stand-alone post office building in Pablo Beach. She remained postmaster through the entirety of the building’s service, from 1903-1908. After Dickerson’s retirement, postal services were relocated to yet another store. The building was re-purposed for private use. By 1917 it was moved to Second Street South and used as a home addition.This building was relocated for the final time here, to the Pablo Historical Park, in 1986 by Scott Chandler as his Eagle Scout Service Project.

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.

Beaches Museum

Blue Star Memorial Highway Historical Marker

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources