As kids, we had an olympic sized swimming pool. We dug it ourselves and in time ended up with a 20 x 40 area with cinder block sides, brick inlaid top and a liner for keeping the water contained. It was genius! My parents had no real money so to do the best that they could and still get what the rich folk got, they figured out ways to make it happened. There we were with a swimming pool where we had huge parties and events and had as much fun as could be expected.
Over 55 years have come and gone and the old’ pool is dilapidated and in disrepair. Our family has done what it can to save different and various structures on the homestead, but some things cannot be saved. The pool, unfortunately is one of them so…
Today, we will take time pulling down the past with heartfelt effort. Stay tuned… There is more…
Somewhere about the age of 7 we moved into our Crystal Springs home. Our parents were the kind that would do what they could do themselves to save money. They were not people of means so saving money was important. They both wanted more not less in life so they both equally worked hard to do themselves what many would have the money to do using contractors and the like.
Alec and Geneva Vaughan bought the property on Crystal Springs road in the 1960’s. It was a 10 acre undeveloped plot on the Westside of the city. My father worked as a Civil Service worker so he didn’t make more than government wages. Mama was a stay-at-home Mom; totally her focus.
She was known to shop at the thrift stores and could be found on the bent aisle area trying to save a buck. The thing was, that both of my parents had visions of grandeur. They both wanted certain things in life and besides a Christian home, which was number one, it was to live life to the fullest.
Sometime after purchasing the land, building a home(Jim Walter) and starting a tiny( 2 cows, 1 horse, 5 chickens) farm, they decided to build their own pool and all this while Daddy worked full time with the Navy. With shovel in hand for every member of the family, we dug our own pool. We did. Over time, we carved out of the soil of Duval County property, a 20 x 40 sized Olympic pool with filter and all. It was rectangle, built directly behind our home and had a depth from 3-6 1/2 feet.
Many parties and events were held with that swimming pool. Stay tuned because there is more.
Beginning in 1984, I began purchasing at least 7 pieces of the Seymour and Maria Pickett land grant dating back to 1808. In a matter of time, I had my own “Ville”; “Nanville”. At this time, it is still in existence with population, 29.
Mr. Pickett was at the right place at the right time. Land was being given alway in the 1800’s. According to Jean Mizell, writer of “The Pickett Family”, Seymour had a way of “petitioning” to the government and being awarded land grants. He had already received a grant in 1803 after his former wife had been lost in a shipwreck. Then he purchased land in Fernandina somewhere around 1804 and was living in East Florida . By the time Jacksonville became a town in 1821 he was again petitioning the government again, as the Indians were pillaging and burning down the countryside and he had been affected.
Specialty Tree on Pickettville- Nanville property-Ramey land(Sibbald Land Grant)
Somewhere around 1812, due to this loss at the hands of Indians he received 640 acres on Sibbald’s Tract in Duval County, Florida. He and his family settled there and it became what we know as Picketville. That brings us to Nanville, which is located near the crossroads of Old Kings Road and Lane Avenue.
In 1984, I decided to purchase an almost 3 acre piece of this beautiful, majestic land. It was full of oak trees, flora and fauna and was located south of Lane Avenue on Jacks Road. It was the beginning of Nanville which would grow to at least 9 parcels by 2022.
While Nanville is a small area, it is significant and part of the Sibbald Tract as well, with 7 small purchases bounded by Lane Avenue, McDuff, Interstate 10 and Old Kings Road. My neighbor on the Jacks Road property was Cecil Overton Pickett, also known as “Gator”. On his tomb stone it is written of him: “The last of a rare breed. A man of integrity whose word was his bond. He was loved and will forever be remembered”. He was born in June of 1926 and died November 9, 2005 at the age of 79. You can see his old Pickett house in the background.
In 2022, a portion of the property was sold to a land developer who is currently clearning the area, cutting the majestic trees and making way for a full neighbourhood of homes. The Picketville and Nanville area is certain to change as Jacks Road and Old Kings are making way to the loss of the old way of life which included barns, cows, livestock, farms and wagons, to the hustle and bustle of this new century with automobiles including the new electric ones, cell phones and security cameras. I do hope those people plant trees, flora and fauna and keep their dogs and cats. We need something of the old way of life. Oh, and I hope they trust God too. He will be needed going forward.
I still own parcels of the Sibbald land grant but none as beautiful as the land Gator Pickett and I managed on Jacks Road. Notice the tree tags which will bring a pretty penny to the buyer. The tag says, “Specialty”. Indeed.
During my young years, we spent a lot of time with my grandparents, Lula and Clifford Long, who lived on Fitzgerald Street between what is now Interstate 10 and Beaver Street. My grandfather, Clifford Long came to Jacksonville to get a job which prompted the entire family to come here and make Duval County home. We all have loved Jacksonville and do to this day.
Papa worked on the Liberty ships which were located on the St. Johns River. My grandmother was a stay-at-home Mom. They lived on Aberdeen Street in the Riverside area most of their early time here in Jacksonville later moving to the Lackawanna area sometime in the late 1940’s.
Both Clifford and Lula were members of the First Baptist Church, a life-changing experience for both of them but mostly for my grandfather according to his own testimony. They could be found in the Hobson Auditorium on Sunday morning, nights and Wednesday, also attending other events which strengthened their faith in Christ.
I am a member of First Baptist because my grandparents were once there. When I returned from college, I went to First and over time, joined.
Grandparents have great influence on their family members. I’m thankful for mine. You?
( I had to just smile when I loaded the photo of my grandparents. Such love is there…)
This has been a fun journey getting ready for our daughter’s wedding. In December of 2021, her boyfriend came home with her to Jacksonville. She lives and works in Alabama where she met him but she wanted to get married in her hometown.
To make things special, he rented a horse and buggy in St. Augustine and invited the family to come along. It was a fun night with love in the air.
Derrick got on his knees and asked Kristie to marry him and that began some ten months of a lot of work at the family homestead. Details coming…..
