Jacksonville Historical Society Inc

THE MISSION OF THE JACKSONVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY IS TO EDUCATE AND INSPIRE THE GREATER JACKSONVILLE COMMUNITY TO VALUE ITS HISTORY BY FOSTERING UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE REGION'S PAST SHAPES OUR PRESENT.

OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING EMPHASIZES THE HISTORY OF JACKSONVILLE. OUR TOPICS OFTEN INTERPRET THE BROAD TOPICS OF U.S. HISTORY IN THE CONTEXT OF JACKSONVILLE'S EXPERIENCE. FOR EXAMPLE, OUR MONTHLY SPEAKER SERIES PROGRAMS FEATURE EXPERTS WHO SHARE THEIR RESEARCH ON HISTORICAL KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF CIVIL RIGHTS, THE LAW, MEDICINE, POLITICS, WOMEN, IMMIGRATION, BUSINESS, ATHLETICS, MARITIME AFFAIRS, MILITARY HISTORY (ESPECIALLY THE NAVY, JACKSONVILLE BEING A MAJOR SEAPORT AND NAVY TOWN), AVIATION, ECONOMICS, EDUCATION, ARCHITECTURE, PRESERVATION, AND MUCH MORE. OFTEN THE SOCIETY PARTNERS WITH LOCAL HISTORICAL, PROFESSIONAL OR PHILANTHROPIC GROUPS TO HIGHLIGHT SPECIALIZED ASPECTS OF LOCAL HISTORY. PRESENTATIONS TAKE PLACE AT OUR EVENT FACILITY, THE 1888 OLD ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH (317 A. PHILIP RANDOLPH BLVD.), AS WELL AS A VARIETY OF VENUES ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. WE STRIVE TO PRESENT TOPICS AT LOCATIONS THAT WILL STRENGTHEN THE HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, AS WELL AS MAKING THE PROGRAMMING EASILY ACCESSIBLE TO DIVERSE AUDIENCES. AS AN EXAMPLE, THE SOCIETY RECENTLY HOSTED ITS ANNUAL BLACK HISTORY MONTH PROGRAM AT EDWARD WATERS COLLEGE, JACKSONVILLE'S ONLY HBCU AND THE FIRST SUCH IN FLORIDA, COMMEMORATING THAT INSTITUTION'S 154TH YEAR OF DELIVERING HIGHER EDUCATION. ADJACENT TO THE OLD ST. ANDREW'S CHURCH IS THE HISTORIC MERRILL HOUSE MUSEUM, THE FORMER HOME OF A LEADING JACKSONVILLE INDUSTRIALIST. THERE THE JHS HOSTS NARRATED HISTORY TOURS FOR ADULTS AND CHILDREN, INTERPRETING THROUGH PHYSICAL ARTIFACTS THE LIFE OF A JACKSONVILLE FAMILY CA. 1902, JUST AFTER THIS CITY'S GREAT FIRE. THE CHURCH AND THE MERRILL HOUSE ARE OWNED BY THE CITY OF JACKSONVILLE, AND MANAGED BY THE JHS. THE ARCHIVES OF THE JACKSONVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ARE HOUSED IN THE 1878 OLD ST. LUKE'S HOSPITAL, AT 314 PALMETTO STREET, WHICH ALSO SERVES AS THE SOCIETY'S OFFICES. NEXT DOOR STANDS THE CA. 1920 FLORIDA CASKET COMPANY BUILDING, WHICH THE SOCIETY PLANS TO RENOVATE AS ARCHIVES PROCESSING, STORAGE AND RESEARCH SPACE, AS WELL AS FOR FUTURE INTERPRETIVE EXHIBITS AND EVENTS. TOGETHER THOSE FOUR HISTORIC STRUCTURES CONSTITUTE THE PHYSICAL PLANT OF THE JACKSONVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY. IN 2019, THE JACKSONVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY ACCEPTED THE DONATION OF TENS OF THOUSANDS OF HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE FLORIDA TIMES-UNION NEWSPAPER, JACKSONVILLE'S MAJOR DAILY NEWSPAPER SINCE THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY. THIS INVALUABLE COLLECTION ADDS TO THE JHS'S ALREADY SIGNIFICANT COLLECTION OF THOUSANDS OF HISTORIC PHOTOS DATING TO BEFORE THE GREAT FIRE OF 1901. PHOTOS AND OTHER HISTORIC DOCUMENTS ARE CATALOGUED IN A DIGITAL ARCHIVING SOFTWARE PRODUCT THAT IS SEARCHABLE ON THE INTERNET, MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR RESEARCHERS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD TO LOCATE RESOURCES HELD IN THE JHS COLLECTIONS. PHOTOS AND OTHER ITEMS ARE DIGITIZED AS PART OF A CONTINUING PROCESS OF MAKING THE CONTENT OF THE COLLECTION VIEWABLE FROM ANYWHERE. THE JACKSONVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY PERIODICALLY CONVENES AND COLLABORATES WITH MORE THAN FORTY OTHER GROUPS AND ORGANIZATIONS CONCERNED WITH ASPECTS OF LOCAL HISTORY AND HISTORIC PRESERVATION. THIS ORGANIZATION, THE JACKSONVILLE HISTORY CONSORTIUM, STRENGTHENS THE CAPACITY OF EVERY CONSTITUENT BY PROMOTING AWARENESS OF EACH OTHER'S RESOURCES, AND WIDER ACCESS TO SMALLER LOCAL COLLECTIONS ACROSS THE HISTORICAL COMMUNITY. WORKING WITH LOCAL TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, THE SOCIETY AND THE CONSORTIUM HELP TO ADVANCE HERITAGE TOURISM IN JACKSONVILLE, CONTRIBUTING TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. THE JACKSONVILLE HISTORICAL SOCIETY RECEIVES ANNUAL SUPPORT FROM THE CULTURAL COUNCIL OF GREATER JACKSONVILLE, THE PUBLIC GRANTING AGENCY THAT DISTRIBUTES LOCAL FINANCIAL SUPPORT ON A COMPETITIVE BASIS TO TWENTY-SEVEN CULTURAL SERVICES ORGANIZATIONS FROM ACROSS THE CITY. THE SOCIETY'S SUPPORT ALSO COMES FROM PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS, BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS. MEMBERSHIP HAS INCREASED YEAR-OVER-YEAR SINCE 2017, WITH MEMBER DUES CONSTITUTING APPROXIMATELY 15% OF TOTAL ANNUAL REVENUE. THE JHS ALSO EARNS REVENUE FROM OCCASIONAL SPACE RENTALS.