Forgotten for centuries, the ancient city of St. Augustine hosted what was evidently the world's first recorded parade celebrating St. Patrick's Day during the Spanish colonial period in 1600 and 1601. In honor of San Patricio, The Jaxson takes a look at this unique piece of First Coast history. Read More
Located in southwest St. Johns County, Downtown Hastings is experiencing a rapid economic rebirth. Here is a brief before and after look at the transformation of this new Florida Main Street district. Read More
In a dimly-lit room above Riverside’s Cool Moose Café, an innocuous meeting was taking place on an otherwise mundane Tuesday evening in September of 2013. Those driving down Park Street would never have known, but that night history was being made for Jacksonville’s skateboarding community. This is the story of how the Artist Walk Skate Park under the Fuller Warren Bridge was born. Read More
Established in 1901 and operating until 1990, the Afro-American Life Insurance Company may be the most well known Black-owned business in Jacksonville's history. However, it wasn't the only large one. In honor of Black History Month, here are five other early 20th century African-American owned businesses associated with the city. Read More
The Great Migration was the movement of roughly six million Black people from the South to the North, Midwest, and West between 1916 and 1970, making it one of the largest internal migrations in U.S. history. However, many contemporary historians overlook the fact that this migration was largely sparked by a series of events rooted in Black Jacksonville’s local resistance to Jim Crow-era segregation. In honor of Black History Month, here are six key facts that highlight Jacksonville’s pivotal role in reshaping the cultural demographics of the entire country. Read More
