Jacksonville Beach History

Jacksonville Beach has a wonderful, rich history.

French Huguenots arrived first in the First Coast region in 1562. Captain Jean Ribault led them to the area. However, the Spanish first settled in the area, establishing missions all the way from St. Augustine up to Mayport. The Spanish occupied the area for nearly 200 years before ceding East Florida to the English by treaty in 1763, but then they regained control of the area twenty years later.

In 1821, the Spanish gave up control of Florida to the United States of America. The Jacksonville Beaches area had residents at least by 1837 when Mayport was made into a port, but it was not made into a true settlement until 1883 when the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad established "Ruby Beach" in modern day Jacksonville Beach. Three years later, the settlement was renamed "Pablo Beach", and it was officially incorporated as a town in 1907. It was not until 1925 that the town was renamed "Jacksonville Beach."