The Jacksonville Historical Society Inc

The Jacksonville Historical Society, founded in 1929, has since 2022 done business as the Jacksonville History Center, serving all the people of Floridas largest city. It does so by collecting, preserving and widely sharing the evidence of the people, places and events of the past, by maintaining the only research collection devoted entirely to Jacksonville, by hosting an oral history program focused on the people of Jacksonville, by hosting an ongoing series of public educational programs with authoritative speakers, by supporting history education in local public and private schools, colleges and universities, and by advocating for the value of historic preservation.In the 204 years since Jacksonvilles establishment, it has experienced major events related to banking, politics, law, industry, architecture, sports, medicine, the military (especially the U.S. Navy), shipping, aviation, immigration, and more. As the center of business, politics and transportation over land and by sea, Jacksonville stood for much the 19th and 20th centuries as Floridas most influential city. In the 21st century it continues to be the states largest city in terms of both size and population. It has long been diverse, demographically and in terms of its political economy. For all those reasons, the motto of the Jacksonville History Center is, "One City, Many Stories."The Jacksonville History Center owns a 1.2-acre campus in downtown Jacksonville's sports and entertainment district, on the bank of Hogans Creek and immediately behind the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena. There the JHC has recently completed a $3.9 million renovation of a 106-year-old, three-story factory which is being adapted to house galleries and exhibits, a performance and event venue, and a much-expanded collections space. The campus is also home to the ca. 1878 St. Luke's Hospital, the first building in Florida designed and built to be a hospital, and the oldest building in downtown Jacksonville to survive the Great F