April 22

Who’s Who in Mandarin, Florida

This old photo was taken in 1956 by the Department of Transportation.

The accompanying note is : Mandarin to Goodbye Lake. Looking north towards the intersection with Loretta Road in Mandarin .”

The days of barren roads and posted mailboxes are almost a thing of the past in Mandarin except for the back-woods, if you can find any.  There are some but they are fading fast as development is eating up the county of this once sleepy but thriving community called St Anthony then San Antonio then Monroe and finally some paperwork did the trick with an 1830 paper naming the area Mandarin and finally in 1841, Mandarin became an incorporated town. Many writings indicate Calvin Read as the one responsible for using the Mandarin orange as a reason for its name.  

Florida Memory document of Ashpel Hartley indicating Mandarin, Fl

Here are some different things in the Mandarin area and where the names were derived.

Albert’s Field is located at the corner of Orange Picker and Brady Road ( 12073 Brady Road). According to the city of Jacksonville park information, the park opened about 1959 with the majority of the property donated by Bruno (1888-1970) and Ann(1896-1991) Albert. The Alberts were accomplished artists.

Walter Anderson Memorial Park– 2738 Orange Pickers Road.  Located about a half of a mile west of San Jose Blvd., there is the park(formerly named Flynn Park) and renamed WAMP in honor of Mr. Anderson.  According to Sam Burney, it was called “Colored Park” in the 1940’s and beyond. He said it was where Blacks gathered on May 20th folks to celebrate the Emancipation Declaration in Florida. This park was formerly known as Joe James Park and then Flynn Park and in 2019 renamed Walter Anderson Memorial Park. In 1995, Anderson donated  four acres for “park purpose” for Black children to have a gathering place, according to the JaxParks website. Since that time, the park has expanded and is used by the community.

Walter Anderson, Photo- Ramey , 1995

Bethel Methodist Episcopal Church– Established in Mandarin in 1880, the church was mainly white and pastored by P. Y. Howard.  Bethel is mentioned in the Bible as “House of God”. 

Burney’s Homestead-Corner of Orange Picker and Brady Road. Samuel Rollin Burney was born in Mandarin on Feb. 27, 1931. He died in Mandarin Feb. 2, 2018 and is buried in Lofton Cemetery. He served in the Navy and bought land in Mandarin at the corner of Orange Picker Road and Brady.

Crane Home–  Robert N. Dennis collection of stereoscopic views has a photograph of the C.J. Crane home of Mandarin, Florida listed in its collection at the New York Public Library.  

Cousin- Philip R. AME–  3601 Orange Picker Road- The Philip R. Cousin AME church began in 1866 at the purchase of 3.25 acres.  The deed was recorded on March 21, 1887.  The reverend S. T. Tice was the first pastor. “Under the leadership of then presiding Bishop Phip R. Cousin, two congregations were merged”. Reverend E. E. Mosely was appointed pastor. The church was then named in honor of Bishop Cousin. The campus has expanded and in 2007 a new worship center was built.

Flynn Road-Flynn Road was named in honor of the Flynn family dating back to at least 1841 when Adeline Flynn was born to James Plummer who was born in Mandarin in 1795.  Adeline was of the Plummer family. As time went along,  James J. Flynn a long time Mandarin resident, opened a general store, plus seed and feed establishment in Mandarin. He also had a taxi service running in Duval and St. Johns County.His wife was a Hartley by name.

Hartley Road–  The Hartley family have been in Mandarin for many years dating back to Anna Maria Hartley who was born 1795 and died on November 25 1863 in Mandarin.  Private Gabriel Hartley was born in 1834 in Mandarin and died July 31, 1904. He is buried at St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Mandarin as are five of his children. The family legacy in Mandarin continued as the documented honourable discharge of Ashpel Hartley, which was his “Christian name” on the document lists his birthplace as, Mandarin October 1895. He died in Mandarin  in 1975 and is buried in Mandarin.

Walter Jones Historical Park– 11964 Mandarin Road.  This park has out-buildings, houses, a Black school and a museum, all used by the community. It is situated along the St. Johns River and has trails and walkways.

Julington Creek-In 1767, Francis Levett, Sr. developed an area along the St. Johns River including many tributaries.  Julington Creek comes from the St Johns River making beautiful land for building homes along the waterways. The area is called “Julington Creek” including the Julington Creek and of late an apartment complex called “The Julington”. The area, according to Ennis Davis was named by Levett for his wife, Julia. 

Loretto  Road has been thought to align with the name of the “Catholic Sisters of Loretto at the Foot of the Cross”. It was known to support a mission for refugees. That group was founded in 1812. 

Mandarin Park– 14780 Mandarin Road- Named for the Mandarin area.

St Johns County– Mandarin was once called St. Johns County until the new districts were drawn up and it became Duval County.  The name St. Johns County obviously is because of the prominance of the St. Johns River running north and south in the Mandarin , Duval and St. Johns County area.

Plummer Grant Road– Jacob James Plummer was born in Mandarin in 1795. The family history continues in the area with the Plummer family. The Harley and Flynn families are all a part of early Mandarin pioneer families.

Read House–  Read came from New England. Since 1850 he was a farmer, citrus grower, postmaster and land owner.  His grandson Calvin C. Built a two-story home on Mandarin Road.  It was written about in Wayne Wood’s Jacksonville Architectural Heritage, published in 1989 and is a landmark for Mandarin. 

Chuck Rogers Park(11950 San Jose Blvd).  Chuck Rogers name in Duval County is synonymous with parks and recreation.  He worked in the department for the county for over 41 years. 

St. Joseph’s Mission– Named for Joseph the husband of Mary, Jesus Christ’s Mother. There was a mission located at what is often called “Catholic Corner”. White children attended the local school in 1868. After the Civil war in 1898, a schoolhouse was built for Black children. It was built by the Catholic Church in Mandarin.The one room schoolhouse was last used in 1943. In an effort to preserve history, it was moved from the Catholic property in 2016 to Mandarin and County Dock Roads where the Mandarin Museum is located.

Stowe Community Center, Stowe Road- Harriet Beecher Stowe was a famed writer publishing Uncle Tom’s Cabin and owning land in Mandarin. She spent over 17 winter seasons in Mandarin along the St. Johns River on her family property.  

Stamps created in 2007 of of H.B. Stowe

Orange Picker Road was once called “Wagon Road” according to an article written by Marks Woods for the Florida Times Union after a walk and talk with Burney who knew first- hand. It obviously was legal called Orange picker because of the orange groves all along the road long before Harriet Beecher Stowe’s crew picked them.

This will be updates over time.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources:  Brett Nolan, Florida Newsline, Mandarin Museum and Historical Society, Florida Times Union, Find a Grave, Personal visit to the locations.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Other photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner. 

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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April 21

Jacksonville Classical Academy

2043 Forest Street

Formerly, Forest Park Elementary School # 104, Jacksonville Classical Academy is built on the same property as the former Forest Park which was abandoned in 2005 according to “Abandoned Florida”. (See page on Forest Park).

The mission on the new construction for Jacksonville Classical Academy  website is, “to train the minds and improve the hearts of young people through a classical education in the liberal arts and sciences, with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue.”

Jacksonville Classical Academy- Photo- Ramey collection

The “Our Story” information includes it being opened in 2020.  The school is located near downtown Jacksonville. It is a tuition-free public charter school “based on the traditions of the liberal arts and sciences with instruction in the principles of moral character and civic virtue”.

See information on Forest Park Elementary # 104 listed under “Schools”. 

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources:  Jacksonville Classical Academy, Abandoned Fl., Photo- Ramey Collection.

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April 20

Douglas Anderson School of the Arts # 107

2445 San Diego Rd, Jacksonville, FL 32207

Douglas Anderson School # 107. Douglas Anderson School, once called South Jacksonville Grammar School opened in 1922. It provided education during a segregated period for Black students grades 1-9.

Douglas Anderson original entrance. Photo- Duval County Schools

The school was later named in honor of Douglas Anderson(1884-1936) for his service to the community.   Douglas  was born in Jacksonville and became a carpenter and businessman. His parents were Samuel and Charlotte Anderson. His father served in the Florida House of Representatives for South Jacksonville.  

The young Anderson  studied at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.  There he married Ethel Stevens. And the two had a daughter, Mary Gwendolyn.    He retired to Jacksonville and as reported in the Florida Times Union “developed a farm on 22 acres on Old St. Augustine Road”. Anderson served as PTA president for a number of years and sometime after 1913,  worked in an effort to get proper bussing for Black students. According to a You Tube video by Carla Michelle, Anderson was a bus driver and awarded the first bus contract to a Black person.

Anderson and Walter Thorpe were at least two who assisted in grants, funds and finances in securing the land that would become school # 107.  It was renamed Douglas Anderson in his honor. ( Florida Times Union, Douglas Anderson’s Grandaughter, February 21, 2022).

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources: You Tube by Carla Michelle, Florida Times Union article, personal visit to the school.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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April 19

Edward H. White High School #248

Edward White School opened in 1971 as Paxon High and Forest High school had an overflow of students.  It served students 10-12th grade.  According to the Duval County information, in 1991 there began changes in “junior high” status creating a four year pattern in schools then offering 9-12th grade.

Photo: NASA

The Duval County history of Edward White indicates that this was one of the first schools to offer Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corpts (NJROTC).  

Photo: Duval County Public Schools

The school was named in honor of astronaut Edward White.  Edward H. White II in June of 1965 was the first spacewalker.  White was born November 14, 1930. He graduated from Western High School in Washington, D.C. and from United States Military Academy in 1952.  He continued to further his experiences and education and in 1962 was selected as an astronaut walking in space in June of 1965.  After earning a degree from the University of Michican he was given a honorary Doctorate in Astronautics from the University of Michican in 1965. In 1967, he died in a flash fire on Pad 34-A  at Kennedy Space center and was buried with full military honors.  He is buried at West Point.

Photo: WikiCommons Public Domain

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources:  Duval County School Edward White, Wikipedia Commons, NASA, Google Search, personal visit to the school.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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April 18

New Life for Harriet Beecher Stowe, Son and New Neighbors

Harriet Beecher Stowe is said to have found her new life in Florida in 1883 when she visited Mandarin along the St. Johns looking for a possible place to invest in helping her alcoholic son. Frederick William Stowe was the fourth of seven children. According to the Harriet Beecher Stowe House writing, he was twelve when his mother published the famed Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

First Edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Stowe

That article writer noted that Frederick had the “Burden of Fame”.  There are many a parent who in today’s environment would send their child to a rehab center.  Apparently, Frederick had that experience but it did not take.  Stowe sent Frederick to Florida to manage a citrus farm very prominent in the Mandarin area at that time. It was believed that he could begin a new and get “healed” of this disease of alcoholism.

Harriet Beecher Stowe bought thirty acres along the St. Johns River of the Fairbanks Grant in Mandarin, Florida.  They wintered in their cottage there from 1883-1884.  The original intent was to give her son something to do while he fought his battles with alcoholism but upon her coming, she fell in love with the flora and fauna and purchased land. It is not known how Frederick did regarding his problems however, Stowe and her husband worked with local Black children with education. 

There is a marker at the Mandarin Community Club in the vicinity of the 30 acre grant. It reads the following:

In 1867, Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe and her husband Calvin bought thirty acres of the Fairbanks Grant in Mandarin which served as their winter home until the winter of 1883-1884. The move to Florida was due to plans for philanthropy among the Negroes and a desire to benefit her son’s health. While in Florida, Mrs. Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, wrote sketches called “Palmetto Leaves”. The Stowes were active in local charitable and religious activities.”

Stowe became a force in the area. It was a new life for not only her and her husband, but their son, and other children. They all gained new neighbors who benefited by her philanthropy as she wintered for some 17 years in Mandarin along the St. Johns River.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources:  Markers, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, Wikimedia.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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April 17

Samuel Fairbank of Mandarin

Samuel Fairbank is  listed on the 1830 Florida Census Mandarin , Florida.  Samuel Fairbank was also the first postmaster of the Mandarin post office as confirmed by Mary Graff, author of the 1968 book, Mandarin on the St. Johns River.  According to the Mandarin Museum Facebook page, Miss Graff wrote the  National Archives in Washington, DC.  Forrest R. Holdcamper returned a letter  November 6, 1947 with the information of all of the postmasters for Mandarin.  

Mary Graff Letter, Collection of the Mandarin Museum and Historical Society

Mandarin on the St. Johns River, as Ms. Graff called it was “established by the British in the 1760’s”, noted by Wikipedia. In 1830, Calvin Reed, named the area Mandarin because of the citrus industry in the area.   It is interesting to note that in 1821 Florida was a Territory and divided by the Suwanee River into two separate counties; East and West Florida.     St. Johns County, also known as East Florida and Escambia County, also known as West Florida.  

Duval County was created in 1822 from St. Johns County and named for William Pope DuVal, the territorial Governor from 1822-1834.  The area of DuVal at the time was from the Suwannee River stretching all of the way east to the Atlantic Ocean bounded by the St. Johns River. More divisions were made to accommodate Nassau county, in 1824 and Clay county in 1858. Jacksonville consolidated on October 1, 1968.  “Atlantic Beach, Baldwin, Jacksonville Beach and Neptune Beach maintain their own municipal governments.”(North Shepherd Moss, Genealogy Trails, Duval County History). 

There is a George R. Fairbanks of New York who settled in St. Augustine in 1842, twelve years after Samuel Fairbank was postmaster of Mandarin’s postoffice.  George became an attorney, historian, author and politician but it does not appear he was related to Samuel Fairbank.

According to genealogy Trails, which seems to have taken information from the early microfiche and documents,  the first census in the Mandarin area was taken in 1830’s.  Based on the information gathered, the two race population was 1,336 which included all of St. Johns County.  By 1860, Genealogy Trails indicated the Federal Census has all of St. Johns County with 1,953 people.

Samuel Fairbank is listed in this survey as living in St. Johns which in his case became “Duval”.  Under the leadership of Governor John Branch, Florida became a state on March 3, 1845  with William D. Moseley elected as the first Governor and David Levy Yulee, U.S. Senator. 

Fairbanks Road in Mandarin is said to have been a dirt road stretching all fo the way to the King’s Road that ran East and West parallel to the coast of Florida. 

In the Mandarin area, there is a Fairbanks Road, Fairbanks Forest Dr., Fairbanks Grant Road W, Fairbanks Grant Road N. 

See you tomorrow.

Nan

Sources:  Genealogy Trails, 1830 Florida Census, History of Duval County, Mandarin Museum and Historical society, Mary Graff, Wikipedia.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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April 16

Hattie Stowe Meets President Lincoln and Governor Stearns

The written work of Harriet Beecher Stowe, affectionally called “Hattie” by those who knew her well, is known as being quite controversial at the time it was written at a time of rampant slavery.   Stowe often stood alone in her thoughts. As one writer has said, even her thoughts were “complex’. At a time that even women were expected to stay quite and stay in their own lane. Stowe widened the road and wrote a blockbuster book impacting the world of readers.

Stowe meets Florida’s Governor, Print Collection, Florida Memory collection.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, also called “Life Among the Lowly” , was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852.    It became a “runaway best-seller” selling 300,000 copies in the first year in America and millions abroad.  According to Google Search, “Stowe became a leading voice in the anti-slavery movement”. 

When Abraham Lincoln met Stowe in Washington, D.C. in 1852,  it is reported he said, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this Great War”. 

In  1874, Stowe met with Governor Marcellus L. Stearns at the capital in Tallahassee with a huge crowd and great fanfare.  Stowe had already published Palmetto Leaves in 1872 and this had added to the excitement around Mandarin,Fl where she lived in her “cottage”( see photo), along the St. Johns River.  People would pay shipmasters to ride in boats to see her sit on her porch along the Mandarin shoreline.  Stowe spent some 17 years wintering in Mandarin, Florida.

The last of her home was demolished in the 1960’s and there are no remnants from it save possibly the ones in the back roads of Mandarin.  It is said that the Black members of Mandarin loved her so that when her house was demolished, they saved the ginger bread trim from her house and used it on their own.

I continue to search among the small homes on the backroads of Mandarin dating to the 1850-1960’s to see if I can find any of those important artifacts. I’ll let you know if I do.

See you tomorrow

Nan

Sources: Florida Historical Society, Florida Memory, Person visit to the Mandarin area.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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April 15

Mandarin’s Miss Aggie Award

Today at the Mandarin post office, a group with the annual Miss Aggie Day event celebrated the life of Susan Ford, one of the Mandarin Historical Society members and lover of all things Mandarin.

Karen Roumillat, Susan Ford, Sandy Arpen

Agnes Jones was the postmistress in Mandarin for many years (1928-1963). She was known to give of herself to many in Mandarin, those with need and those who simply needed a kind word. An award was set up which is given every year in May. Susan Ford was honoured.

Susan has recently published, with the cooperation of the Historical Society a book called “Images of America: Mandarin which is a photolog of many facets of Mandarin, Florida.

Once, Mandarin was a sleepy, country area made up of hard working people living the wooded, life.  Today, it  is growing in leaps and bounds such that many in the community are saying “enough!”.

Susan Ford has loved Mandarin for many years and said that putting this book together was simply a “labor of love”.  

Karen Roumillat, Susan Ford, Sandy Arpen

I was able to catch up with Susan for the first time in many years. Pleasure.

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources: Mandarin Newsline, Sandy Arpen, Mandarin Historical Society Facebook. Personal visit to the Mandarin Post Office. 

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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April 14

Robert J. Bateman of the Titanic

Robert James Bateman was born in Bristol, England. He met and married Emily Hall Bateman in Britton on February 9, 1880. It is said he was returning to Jacksonville, Florida where he was the founder of the Central City Mission.

Mission- Jacksonville, Florida (Cowart Collection)

Bateman was returning from England when the Titanic Ship hit an iceberg and sunk on April 14,1912.  People were relegated to getting on life boats to save their lives.  Because the ship was deemed “unsinkable”, the White Star Line did not put enough life boats on the ship. Bateman is said to have stayed behind, lead the band in the song “Nearer My God to Thee” as the ship went down. 1,523 people lost their lives on that fateful night in the North Atlantic Ocean.

There is evidence that he gave his Bible to Aida Balls, his sister-in-law. His Bible was put on display in the Baxter Seminary Library in the 1940’s and later is said to have been put on display at the Titanic Museum in Tennessee. It is now at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC.

Titanic Museum Display

Bateman’s lifeless body was returned to his wife in Jacksonville. His service was held at the First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida  on May 12, 1912.   Bateman( 1860-1912) is buried at Evergreen Cemetery off of Main Street in Jacksonville, Florida.  There are five memorials tied to the Titanic at Evergreen Cemetery.

Bateman found by the Mackay-Bennett group

Bateman was known as a true Christian with many articles quoting his love of Christ and desire that people be saved.

Notes in Bateman’s Bible (J. Cowart collection)

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources:  Florida Baptist Historical Society, Voice of the Martyrs, Cowart, Old newspapers in public domain, Scottishrite.org, Evergreen Cemetery, Personal visit to Evergreen.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

Category: Faith, People, Uncategorized | LEAVE A COMMENT
April 12

J. Allen Axson Public School # 8

1226 E. 16th Street/Franklin Street

Moved to: 4763 Sutton Park Court 32224

1910

To be repurposed

Originally called Graded Springfield School, and East Springfield Elementary school, its name was changed in honor of J. Allen Axson,  the former principal of the school.  The school is number 8 in the public school listing and sits on 2.7 acres of land in east Springfield.  The school was built in  1912  In his younger years, Axson became a farmer, worked as a carpenter. Later, he worked as an educator.

J. Allen Axson # 8. (Ramey Collection).

The school was designed by Richard Lewis Brown, Jacksonville’s first Black architect.  It was built in 1910 following the out-growth after the Great Jacksonville Fire of 1901. Several students who attended this school were Frank R. Williams, Eric Leonard Jenkins and Clayton Emory Smith.  Employees at the school were many including Mrs. Edie Garrett and Maury O’Cane.  The area itself was known as the “Phoenix Avenue”, had begun n 1904 and with the growing area was in need of a school for children thus the Phoenix was rising,  symbolic of “growing out and above a catastrophe”.

Things in that area grew steadily until the Haines Street Expressway was built east of the school. Traffic, transportation and true crime plagued the area. The school closed in 2005. It reopened as a Montessori school in 1991. After the school closed, vandals broke windows, and painted graffiti on walls. It was boarded up but vandals found a way in and a fire damaged its interior in 2021. 

In 2023, there has been hope to repurpose the building. 

See you tomorrow,

Nan

Sources: Duval Public Schools, Personal visit.

This information including Ramey photos may be used with credit to Ramey Collection. Photos may be 3rd party for which may be secured by copyrighted owner.

If you believe you are a copyright owner or can help with information regarding this article, including to clarify rights or information issues, please contact me. We are willing to remove any item from public view if there is any concern regarding ownership. 

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