USA > Florida > Duval County > Jacksonville > History of early Jacksonville, Florida; being an authentic record of events from the earliest times to and including the civil war by Thomas Frederick Davis > Part 8
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ADAMS STREET, NORTH SIDE.
Returning west on Adams Street there was nothing between Hogan's Creek and the north- east corner of Market, where Mr. Fennimore lived. Mrs. Fennimore was the dressmaker for all the belles of that day.
Across Market were the Flemings; next Cap- tain William Ross, and on the corner of Newnan was a boarding house.
On the northwest corner of Adams and New- nan were the Buffington House stables, afterward converted into a boarding house, called the Cali- fornia House. The weather-boarding on this building was placed up and down-an innovation at that day. Next, the Gibsons, man and wife, lived. An unfortunate mistake disrupted this
family. A large boarding house in the town burned and Mr. Gibson was accused of setting it on fire. He was threatened with a coat of tar and feathers unless he left the town. He left and never returned. In later years it developed that a careless servant had placed hot ashes too near the building, causing it to catch on fire. Mr. Congar lived on the northeast corner of Ocean and Adams.
The Ledwiths lived across from the Congars, on the northwest corner, not quite on the corner, as that was a fine plum orchard. Next to the Ledwiths was a Spanish family by the name of Ximanes, whose income was derived from fishing,
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and the sale of mocking birds to the northern tourists that came here during the winter. The corner of Pine was not occupied, as the land was low and damp.
MONROE STREET.
Columbus Drew, Sr., was really a pioneer when he built his house at the corner of Monroe and Laura in 1851. East of this there were no build- ings to the northeast corner of Ocean, the site of the old block house. Here stood a large building used as a hotel, and conducted successively by Mrs. Coy, Creighton, and Mattair. In the oppo- site block, south side of Monroe Street, inside from the corner, the Presbyterians had a small meeting house, where weekly prayer meetings were held. Judge Lancaster resided on the south- west corner of Monroe and Market, afterwards the Hearns, Suttons, and Garnies.
DUVAL STREET.
The Episcopal church occupied its present site at the head of Market Street. One of the early residences was built at the southeast corner of Duval and Market, and was occupied at different times by J. W. Bryant, Judge Daniel, and others. There were two other churches on Duval Street, one near the northeast corner of Newnan, and the other across the street on the northwest cor- ner. Back of this, north, were the homes of the free negroes, mostly west of Ocean Street. These negroes occupied land belonging to I. D. Hart; this quarter was called "Negro Hill".
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CHAPTER XI.
1850-1855.
The first event of importance transpiring after the beginning of the half-century had in view the ultimate beautifying of the city, as it was early in 1850 that the fine oak trees which lined the streets of Jacksonville before the fire of May 3, 1901, were planted. An old negro, April Suarez, set them out under the direction of Dr. A. S. Baldwin and General Thomas Ledwith1. In later years these trees were the pride of the city and added wonderfully to its attractiveness.
In 1850, the first circular saw mill ever built in East Florida was erected at the mouth of Potts- burg Creek, and in the following year John Clark built the second circular saw mill, on East Bay Street, near Hogan's Creek. Mr. Clark then added a planing mill, the first in East Florida, and his first large order for planed lumber was for building the Judson House. About 1853-54, there were five or six saw mills at Jacksonville, and as many more in the immediate vicinity. The lum- ber industry was the principal one here then. A great quantity of live oak timber was exported annually, for use in the construction of vessels2. Considerable cotton was brought here for ship- ment, also, Jacksonville being the shipping point for quite a large territory tributary to the St.
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Johns River. These industries put into circula- tion much money that naturally found its way into all lines of business. Nearly all the merchants were well-to-do, gauged by the standard of that early time. Business was conducted without rancor and with the utmost integrity. Salaries were not what would now be called large, but the cost of living comfortably was within the reach of all-a condition having an important bearing upon the community. Abject poverty was a state unknown, and seldom was a door locked or a win- dow closed out of fear of petty thieving.3
CURFEW.
A marshal constituted the police force during the day, and at night two citizens were selected to serve as town watchmen, called the Patrol, cor- rupted "Pat-role". The duties of the Patrol were principally to arrest negroes found without passes on the streets after 9 p. m. The fire bell was rung promptly at 9 o'clock every night, to notify the negroes to go to their quarters, and if found out after that hour without a written pass, signed by their owners, granting them permission to stay out until a later hour, the hour being always designated, they were locked up for the night and the next morning were taken before the mayor for trial. The negroes corrupted patrol into "patteroller" and in mocking they would sing:3
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Run, nigger, run, the patteroller'll ketch yer, Run, nigger, run, 'tis almost day ; I run, an' I run, till I los' my way, Then I run, an' I run, an' I run my bes', Till I run my head in a hornet's nes'.
A citizen could be excused from patrol duty upon the payment of $2, but not twice in succes- sion. Every citizen of age, except those specially exempt, such as clergymen, doctors, etc., was sub- ject to this duty. Midnight usually found the patrol slumbering serenely in his home3.
As punishment for those negroes who were con- victed of serious offenses, the whipping post was now and then resorted to with good effect. At rare intervals, the Pillory and Stocks was success- fully used for white thieves, and no offender thus punished was ever known to stay in this com- munity afterward'.
RELATION BETWEEN MASTER AND SERVANT.
The question of master and slave was seldom referred to. The master considered it his duty to protect those who served him, and the servant felt that he was accountable for his master's social position and other responsibilities. The slaves were treated with a consideration and trust with- out a parallel at this day. The children loved their colored "mammies," and the mammies felt that they were responsible for the obedience of the children, "manners" being held at a premium and duty the first consideration.
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The relation between master and slave differed little from that prevailing in other portions of the South before the war-a sincere and confiding affection on one side, and on the other a kind and considerate regulation of the simple lives reposed in the white owner's care. When an entertain- ment was given by the colored people, it was not at all unusual for the mistress to lend her jewelry to her maid for the occasion, showing plainly the interest taken in the pleasure of the slaves; and in sickness they were provided for and given the best attention. There were, of course, exceptions in both cases3.
This advertisement, appearing in the Florida News, a local newspaper, is interesting, indicating as it does one method of recovering runaway slaves :
TWENTY-FIVE DOLLARS REWARD.
RUNAWAY in November last my negro woman HANNAH. She is about 5 ft., 7 or 8 inches high, black, no front teeth and about 40 years of age. Hannah has a mother in Newnansville or Tallahassee known by the name of Mary Ann Sanchez, formerly the property of Roman Sanchez of Newnansville. The above reward will be given upon her being lodged in any jail where I can get her or upon being de- livered to me at Palatka or Jacksonville.
Louis M.Coxetter.
Jacksonville, June 5, 1852.
The Tallahassee papers will please copy and send their bills to this office.
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This same paper contained another item of in- terest, one that would indicate that the Town Council was composed of citizens serving for the best interest of the community :
PROCEEDINGS OF THE TOWN COUNCIL
Regular Meeting
Council Chamber, August 6, 1852.
Council Met :- Present, His Honor, Henry D. Holland, Intendant *; Messrs. Buffington, Cooper, and Canova, Councilmen.
Mr. Townsend, elected a Councilman to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Wm. Alsop, ap- peared for the purpose of taking the oath of office, which was objected to by Councilman Buffington, on the ground of his not possessing the requisite qualifi- cations for the performance of the duties of the office .***
Attest, F. C. BARRETT, Clerk.
TRANSPORTATION.
Railroads and the telegraph had not yet come to Jacksonville. Steam packets ran to Savannah and Charleston, and sailing vessels communicated with the more distant cities and the West Indies. It was almost as customary to talk about Hayti and Martinique then as it is about New York todayª.
Communication with the interior of the State was by means of a stage line to Tallahassee and
*Mayor.
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intermediate points. It was a three days' trip, avoided as much as possible, except at court ses- sions and when the Legislature met. The Central Stage Line ran this advertisement in the Jackson- ville paper during the summer of 1852:
CENTRAL STAGE LINE
From Jacksonville to Tallahassee Semi-Weekly.
The proprietor takes pleasure in announcing to the public that he has just placed upon the route a new and splendid FOUR HORSE COACH and that he is prepared to convey passengers through in the shortest possible time. He has relays of the best horses at different points, so that no more time is lost than is necessary for their change. The stage leaves Jacksonville every Sunday and Wednesday after- noon, immediately after the arrival of the steamers from Savannah and returns in time to connect with them on their return trips. These steamers connect with others at Savannah for Charleston and New York, thus affording the travelers from the North and others visiting Tallahassee or interior towns of Florida a speedy transit. A coach connects with this line to and from the White Sulphur Springs in Hamilton County.
FERNANDEZ, BISBEE & Co., Agents.
G. R. Fairbanks describes the stage trip as one of "ups and downs, jolts and bumps; roots lying on the surface, the impact with which would send the unprepared passenger up against the top, or with a painful jerk against the standards. The
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weary drag during the long, dark nights, for the hacks kept on night and day, was an experience to be long remembered". To modify these dis- comforts, a plank road was projected to Alligator (Lake City), eight miles of which was completed. The plank road began at the intersection of Bay and Newnan Streets, ran north to Monroe, thence to Laura, to Ashley, then west in the direction of "Cracker Swamp," I. D. Hart's plantation. The road was hailed with delight by the citizens, as it furnished the only good drive anywhere near Jacksonville5. The people, always suiting some set expression to every innovation, started the slogan, "Two-forty on a plank""". When the rail- road was assured, the plank road construction was abandoned, leaving the stockholders of the enter- prise responsible for debts that brought forth many law suits6.
SMALL-POX EPIDEMIC.
Jacksonville experienced an epidemic of small- pox during the summer of 1853. J. W. Bryant, one of the foremost lawyers in the town, con- tracted the disease at some place in Georgia, where he had gone on legal business. Upon his return, he was taken sick at the Buffington House, then the fashionable hotel of Jacksonville. Numerous friends visited him before the case was diagnosed as one of small-pox, and therefore the epidemic started among the best people. Those at the Buffington House were the first to take the disease,
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and soon afterward sporadic cases began to develop until, finally, the epidemic became general among both white and colored. It was severe and a good many deaths resulted, while those who re- covered were in many cases badly pitted3.
LOCAL CONDITIONS IN THE EARLY FIFTIES.
It is said that some of the merchants were very fond of playing cards, and even during business hours would gather at some retreat for a quiet game. Should a customer appear, a sentinel placed on watch would report, "Mr. So-and-so, some body is going in your store", whereupon the game would be temporarily "called". Whenever children or servants were the purchasers, the store keeper usually gave them a small present, such as a sweet cracker or a piece of candy; this was called "coontra". It has been impossible to trace the derivation of this word, but the custom doubtless originated from the fact that the money divisions in those days were in fractions of a cent, and the small present was given, rather than to consider the fractions in carrying accounts. The silver dollar was the standard, but it was reck- oned eight bits, instead of one hundred cents. There were half bits, 61/4; bits, 121/2; two bits, 25 cents, and so on. If "coontra" was not given to the negroes it was always asked for by them, but the white children were forbidden by their parents to do so, as it was not considered "good manners".3
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There were no soda fountains in those days, and it was seldom that ice could be obtained. Ice was brought here from the North in sailing vessels. Lemonade and tamarind water were the most popular "soft" drinks. The tamarind is a species of bean that grows in the West Indies, and from it a sticky substance exudes. The beans were put into a pitcher and hot water poured over them; this concoction was allowed to cool, when the drink was ready for use. It had a semi-acid taste, and was considered very healthful. Drinking water came from wells and cisterns. Rain water, when filtered through an earthern vessel called a "monkey", was considered a great luxury3.
A whole lot on Bay Street, 105 feet frontage, could be bought for little more than what a front foot of the same property would sell for now. In the spring of 1846, Captain John L'Engle bought for $300 the square bounded on the north by Bay Street, east by Laura, west by Hogan, and south by the river. In August, 1877, William Astor bought the west 521/2 feet of this block, running from Bay Street to the river, for $10,000, and the entire block, exclusive of the buildings, is now (1911) worth more than $600,000, the least valu- able half lot of the block of three lots having recently sold for $100,000. In 1853, the north- west corner lot at Bay and Market Streets, includ- ing a two-story boarding house, was purchased for $2,500; and A. Judson Day, of Maine, bought half the block, west half, between Julia and Hogan
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Streets from Forsyth through to the river for $3,000. A year or so later, the northeast corner of Bay and Ocean, where the Guaranty Trust and Savings Bank and other buildings now stand, was sold to Ambler & Hoeg for $3,000. Residence lots a few blocks back from Bay Street that would now bring way up in the thousands sold then for less than $100. Springfield was a wilderness and Riverside a corn field. Between Duval and Beaver Streets, west of Main, was a large pond where flocks of wild ducks congregated in the win- ter time and furnished good shooting for the sportsmen of Jacksonville. Northwest of Hem- ming Park, between Forsyth and Church, Clay and Jefferson Streets was a dense swamp, where in places the water stood several feet deep. LaVilla was an island, owing to the course of several small streams that have since been filled in".
For the purpose of furnishing water to fight fires with, public wells were dug at the intersection of certain streets. One was located at the inter- section of Washington and Forsyth; another at the intersection of Forsyth and Newnan, and a third at Newnan and Adams Streets. Bay Street received its supply from the river. At the ringing of the fire bell, which hung from a tripod over the well at Newnan and Adams Streets, the citizens rushed out and formed into line to pass buckets of water from the nearest well to the burning building. Ladders were kept in rude sheds built on the side of the street near the wells. Usually
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one man gave orders. Later, the town bought a sort of fire pump, a crude affair worked by handles on each side, negroes furnishing the motive power. The building material used in Jacksonville at that time was mostly pitch pine®, very inflammable, and as there was no adequate way of controlling large fires, it was but a question of time when the town would suffer a general conflagration. It came on April 5, 1854.
THE GREAT FIRE OF 1854.
A description of this destructive fire was pub- lished on the following day in an "Extra" gotten out by the Florida Republican, a copy of which follows, except that in one or two instances proper names have been corrected®:
FLORIDA REPUBLICAN, EXTRA. Jacksonville, Florida, April 6, 1854.
GREAT AND DISASTROUS CONFLAGRATION
Jacksonville in Ruins.
Seventy Houses Consumed.
Loss over $300,000.
Two printing offices destroyed.
Yesterday at 1 o'clock p. m., the alarm of fire was given in this town and in four hours afterwards all the business portion of the town was in ruins. The
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fire originated in S. N. Williams' hay shed, on the wharf, communicated, as is supposed, by a spark from the Charleston steamer "Florida". It ex- tended with astonishing rapidity in every direction, spreading first along the block of stores on the south side of Bay street, between Newnan and Ocean streets; thence communicating with the square op- posite on the north which was all consumed; thence with the store of A. M. Reed and the Bank agency adjoining on the west side of Ocean street, which were both destroyed; thence with the square east of Newnan street and fronting on Bay, which contained the large and handsome block known as Byrne's building; nearly the whole square being consumed ; at the same time with the buildings on Bay street east of the point at which the fire originated, and of Newnan street, which was at once swept away.
This was principally the course of and the area which has been devastated by the devouring element. The wind was blowing strongly at the time, and caused the course of the fire, at first, to be to the westward by which several private dwellings at the extreme west end of the town, and several stores, Moody's, Holmes's, and Fairbank's mills, and the new hotel of Messrs. Day, were set on fire, but extin- guished before any material damage was sustained. Still, the intense heat from the first block was so great that that of itself ignited the squares on the opposite side, and on the east, and the immense amount of goods thrown from the stores along the whole of Bay street, formed from the same cause an immense conflagration of spirits, oil, paints, etc.
By this fire seventy buildings were entirely de-
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stroyed. Of these, twenty-three were stores, of the following persons, viz: F. Waver & Co., provisions ; C. D. Oak, and Wm. Grothe, jewelers ; S. N. Williams, grocer; J. P. Sanderson, dry goods and provisions ; Bloodgood & Bouse, do; H. Timanus, do; T. Hart- ridge, do; J. Mode, dry goods; James Hanham, grocer; Mr. Hernandez, tobacconist; C. De Waal, auctioneer ; L. Capella, fruit store; J. Santo, do; A. M. Reed, dry goods and provisions ; M. Keil, do; A. B. Hussey, grocer; Mr. Moore, fruit store; J. L. Hogarth, tinner; Ambler & Hoeg, dry goods and pro- visions; J. L. Ripley, clothing; J. C. Brown, fruit store; L. B. Amerman, dry goods; T. McMillan, druggist; T. G. Myers, grocer; A. C. Acosta, fruit store; J. B. Howell, grocer; Joseph Hernandez, tailor; C. DeWaal, bakery; Geo. Flagg, jeweler; R. H. Darby, tailor; C. Poetting, boot and shoe maker.
The law offices of Geo. W. Call and G. W. Hawkins and the office of F. C. Barrett, Notary Public, etc., in the Byrne block, were also destroyed, a portion only of their legal and official documents being saved.
The office and warehouse of Mr. Joseph Finegan and the furniture store of L. M. Fulsom, destroyed. McRory's Insurance Agency, office in the Sammis Block, also went by the board, together with a por- tion of his papers. The Custom-house, Mr. Mc- Intosh's Law office, Capt. Willey's residence, J. Hanham's store and residence, J. Mode's store and elegant residence, as also the law office of P. Frazer, Esq., we note among other buildings destroyed.
The two and only printing offices of the place-the Republican and the News, were consumed, the latter entirely, and but enough of the Republican material
)
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has been gleaned from the harvest of the terrible Reaper to furnish this Extra! We shall order new type and a press however, by the mail for the north tomorrow morning, and hope to be "fully on our feet" again in the course of a month ; and in the mean time shall endeavor to issue copies enough of our paper for our exchanges on a foolscap sheet, on an improvised press-our two iron hand presses being utterly wrecked. We therefore throw ourselves upon the indulgence of our advertising and reading patrons "for a little while," being determined not to desert the "burning ship"-being utterly op- posed to any species of "ratting". As we are doing advertising for merchants in Charleston and Savan- nah, we request our contemporaries in those cities to note our situation.
The steamer "Florida" was lying at her wharf at the time of the fire, and drew off into the stream as it progressed; the "Seminole" from Savannah bringing the mail (the Gaston being taken off the line) had passed up the river. Every exertion was made by the citizens, firemen, and even the ladies, who were found here and there lending assistance, to arrest the fire, the negroes also laboring faithfully to do their utmost. But the fire became unman- ageable, and as the intense heat extended itself, con- fusion and exhaustion rendered human exertion less efficient. A portion of the fire apparatus unfortu- nately fell into a situation which brought it in con- tact with the flames, and it was lost.
Upon the amount of property lost, it is estimated that one-half is insured, some in New York and New England offices, and some in Georgia. The two
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printing offices were insured, our own for a little more than half its value. We lost all the printing paper, and a large quantity of letter, which we had on hand for jobbing. Our "set up" forms have run into a molten mass.
Mr. Andres Canova was severely burnt and is dis- abled, and Mr. J. C. Hemming was severely stunned and for some time hurt, but he is now better. We regret also that the family of Mr. Philip Frazer, who were ill, were forced to remove.
SCARLET FEVER EPIDEMIC.
This was a period of misfortune for Jackson- ville, as a severe epidemic of scarlet fever raged in the town when the fire occurred. There were two versions as to how the fever started here. One is that the infection was introduced by means of a letter written by a lady while holding a baby sick with scarlet fever in her lap3. The other is that the nurse one day took little Ally Dell, daughter of Philip Dell, down to the boat yard and it is sup- posed that the child played with sailors from a vessel lying at the wharf and on which there was a case of scarlet fever. In a few days she was taken desperately ill. Mrs. Mary Turknett nursed this child and it died in her lap. This was in February, 1854. The attending physician diag- nosed the case simply as one of fever, but when the little corpse was prepared for burial, scarlet fever symptoms were noticed in the peeling skin. Mrs. Turknett shrouded the body, at the time
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wearing a black woolen skirt. When she returned to her home she hung the skirt up in a closet and did not wear it again for nearly a month. Then she wore it, and in a few days scarlet fever broke out in the family.
The disease spread through the town and the type was most malignant. Numbers of persons died, the Turknett family in particular being afflicted, five grown sons dying within a space of eight days, April 2 to 10, two of them on the same day and were buried from the same bier.
REAL SHOT-GUN QUARANTINE.
Thus twice had Jacksonville suffered from dis- eases introduced from outside sources, so when the yellow fever broke out in Savannah in the summer of 1854, the citizens determined to keep it from coming to this place at all hazards. The authorities prohibited the Savannah steamers stopping or even passing by on their way up the river, as it was thought that the yellow fever might be introduced in that way. Captain Nick King, of the Savannah steamer, carried the mail, and he laughed at the proclamation of the citizens prohibiting the passage of steamers by Jackson- ville, and passed by heedless of the warning. A party of citizens then got an old condemned can- non, took it to the river bank at the foot of Cath- erine Street, and loaded it with a 32-pound shot. About dark the steamer hove in sight coming up the river, close in on the opposite side. When in
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