When William E. Scull and his wife, Eleanor, moved to the area now known as Jacksonville Beach in 1884, there were already several tent houses in the vicinity. The Sculls lived in one tent and ran the first general store from another. Later they applied for a post office under the name of Ruby, a name chosen in honor of their oldest daughter, and they ran the post office from their store. Mail arrived once weekly by boat from Jacksonville.
Meanwhile, in Jacksonville, a group of enterprising businessmen conceived the idea of a railway to the beaches east of Jacksonville. It was their plan to develop a summer resort to attract tourists to the Jacksonville area. The Jacksonville and Atlantic Railway Company was chartered in 1883 to build sixteen and a half miles of narrow gauge railway from South Jacksonville to the Ruby settlement. The company acquired many acres of choice oceanfront property which was divided into lots. By November 12, 1884, Ruby was ready for the first buyers of the sub-divided lots. About fifty prospective buyers arrived by excursion boats. In all, thirty-four lots were sold that day at a grand total of $7,514.
Ruby was renamed Pablo Beach in 1886 after the San Pablo River to the west of the region. On completion of the railway to Pablo Beach in mid 1886, the first resort hotel was built and opened to the public. A splendid multi-story structure, the Murray Hall Hotel had room for 350 guests and cost $150,000 to build. Unfortunately it was totally destroyed by fire in 1890. The Murray Hall was succeeded by other resort hotels; the Adams House, the Perkins House, the Continental, the Ocean View and the Palmetto Lodge, all destroyed by fire.
The railway company soon met financial difficulties and was taken over by millionaire Henry M. Flagler as part of the Florida East Coast Railway System. Late in 1900 the railway was changed to standard gauge and extended to Mayport. Further transportation was added in 1910 when a winding oyster shell road was constructed in the vicinity of the present Atlantic Boulevard, dividing Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach.
On September 4, 1922, Pablo Beach came into the international limelight when First Lieutenant James H. Doolittle, after a previous abortive attempt, broke the transcontinental speed record. With only one stop at Kelly Field in Texas, he flew from Pablo Beach to San Diego in less than 24 hours. For this feat he was awarded his first Distinguished Flying Cross. On September 4, 1980 he returned to unveil a marker in Pablo Historical Park. James Doolittle had a distinguished military career, leaving service as a Lt. General.
Pablo Beach had been incorporated on May 22, 1907, and in 1925 the name was changed to Jacksonville Beach. From what began as a tent city for a few hardy souls, Jacksonville Beach has grown in to a solid business, resort and residential community with a population over 19,000.
|
