Castillo de San Marcos, photos courtesy of NPS
A Step Back in Time:
Historical Sites and Museums To understand what makes the First Coast such a great place to live, it’s important to know the rich history of those who lived here long ago. Long before the area was colonized by European settlers, the Timucuan people called Northeast Florida home. For over 1,000 years, the Timucuan tribes lived in various communities along the waterways in North and Central Florida, as well as southeastern Georgia. Archeologists have even discovered some of the oldest remnants of pottery in the United States, dating to 2500 B.C. in the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.
In 1513, Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de León
attacked during wars. To keep the city of Havana,
With a booming population of 17,201 in 1890,
landed on the banks of Northeast Florida and claimed
Spain gave most of its Florida territory to the British
Jacksonville continued to be a popular city and grew
the land for Spain. Inspired by the lush landscape,
at the end of the Seven Years’ War.
to 57,699 residents by 1910. The St. Johns River
Ponce de León named the area La Florida.
After their defeat in the American Revolutionary War,
became a large transporter of goods and passengers.
In 1562, the French Huguenots, led by Jean
Britain returned control of the Florida territory to
Ribault, claimed the land near the St. Johns River
Spain in 1783 via the Peace of Paris. Around this
and traveled north to what is presently known as
time, downtown Jacksonville was known as Cowford
and recreation.
South Carolina. The colony they established was
because there was a place in the St. Johns River that
The area also began to become a prime vacation
not prosperous and failed. Ribault’s second-in-
was both shallow and narrow enough for cattle to
spot, with untouched beaches and warm weather.
command, René Goulaine de Laudonnière, took
cross.
The First Coast’s popularity also brought a drove of
settlers from South Carolina back to Florida. In 1564,
In 1821, Spain ceded the Florida Territory to the
people looking to relocate and a population boom
he founded Fort Caroline, but the next year the fort was destroyed by orders of the Spanish Governor of Florida, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. These disasters led up to the creation of a new city, St. Augustine, which was originally the site of the Timucuan village, Seloy. The city was rebuilt several times after being 136
First Coast Relocation Guide™ | © Heritage Publishing, Inc.
United States. American settlers on the north side of Cowford decided to plan a town and began laying out the streets and plats. Eventually, the name was changed to Jacksonville after Andrew Jackson, who would go on to become the seventh president of the United States.
It allowed access to the ocean to cross the sea, which assisted in facilitating commerce, enhanced security
began. The area’s growth in the 20th century can also be attributed to the presence of its growing Navy bases.
