Together with Northside, Westside, and Southside, Arlington is one of the large sections of Duval County. Initially, Arlington was a settlement to the east across the St. Johns River from Jacksonville; today it refers to most of Jacksonville east and south of the St. Johns, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, and north of the Arlington River Southside.
Arlington was one of the first areas in the United States visited by Europeans; it was the site of the French Fort Caroline in 1564-1565, now represented by the Fort Caroline National Memorial. After the destruction of Fort Caroline, the area was only sparsely inhabited until the 19th century, when sawmills and plantations were established along the St. Johns River. After the American Civil War these gave way to residential developments, which were gradually absorbed into the Arlington community as it grew. The construction of the Matthews Bridge in 1953 opened the area up to significantly increased development, and over the next two decades Arlington became fastest growing part of the Jacksonville area.
Avondale
Avondale is a neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. It is located south of downtown Jacksonville, and consists of blocks along and around Edgewood Avenue between U.S. Route 17 (Roosevelt Boulevard) and the St. Johns River. The boundary with the adjacent neighborhood of Riverside to the northeast is not clear cut. On July 6, 1989, a section of the neighborhood, between Belvedere Avenue and Seminole Road to the northeast and Talbot Avenue to the southwest, was added to the National Register of Historic Districts as the Avondale Historical District. The district encompasses approximately 2,730 acres (11.0 km2), and contains 729 historic buildings.
Jacksonville Beaches
The Jacksonville Beaches communities are all located on an unnamed barrier island defined by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the St. Johns River to the north, and the Intracoastal Waterway to the west. The island was actually originally a peninsula until 1912, when a 10-mile channel was dug connecting the San Pablo and Tolomato Rivers, facilitating the Intracoastal Waterway and separating the land from the mainland. The island has no official name; beginning in the 21st century there has been a push to name it San Pablo Island.
The northernmost of the beach communities is Mayport, in Duval County. Since the consolidation of the Jacksonville and Duval County governments in 1968, Mayport has been within the city limits of Jacksonville. Most of Mayport is currently occupied by Naval Station Mayport, a major U.S. Navy base. Moving south along the coastline are three incorporated towns, also within Duval County: Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Jacksonville Beach. All three maintain their own municipal governments; however, residents receive county-level services from Jacksonville and vote for Jacksonville's mayor and City Council. Continuing south into St. Johns County is Ponte Vedra Beach. Typically, only the communities on the northern part of the island are considered the Beaches; areas to the south such as Vilano Beach are usually not included. The Palm Valley area of St. Johns County, much of which is also located on the island, is sometimes considered part of the Beaches.
Atlantic Beach - Part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities and located in Duval County, Atlantic Beach is a quasi-independent town. Like the other towns, it maintains its own municipal government but its residents vote in the Jacksonville mayoral election and have representation on the Jacksonville city council.
Development of Atlantic Beach took off around 1900 after Henry Flagler built the Mayport stop of his East Coast Railway to the north of the town. The Atlantic Beach Corporation bought and developed most of the land in what is now Atlantic Beach in 1915, and the town was incorporated in 1926. The town was expanded in the 1987 when it annexed Seminole Beach, which had previously been within the city limits of Jacksonville.
Neptune Beach - Part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities and located in Duval County, Neptune Beach is a quasi-independent town. Like the other towns, it maintains its own municipal government but its residents vote in the Jacksonville mayoral election and have representation on the Jacksonville city council.
Neptune Beach was originally part of Jacksonville Beach. Through its development, the part of Jacksonville Beach north of 20th Avenue North was sparsely populated, with a brick road (First Street) connecting the more populated southern area with Atlantic Beach. According to the best accepted story, the name "Neptune Beach" originated in 1922 with Dan G. Wheeler, one of the few residents. Wheeler had a home at what is now One Ocean hotel (now in Atlantic Beach), and had to walk all the way home from Mayport each evening after taking the Florida East Coast Railway train home from work in Jacksonville. A friend who worked for the railroad informed Wheeler that if he had a station, the train would have to stop for him, so Wheeler built his own train station near his home and named it Neptune.
Neptune seceded from Jacksonville Beach and incorporated as its own municipality in 1931, following a tax revolt. The comparatively few residents of the area were largely cut off from Jacksonville Beach city services such as police, fire, garbage collection, and road developments, though they paid taxes in equal share. The first mayor was O. O. McCollum, and the government met in Wheeler's old train station until a new town hall was completed in 1935.
Ponte Vedra Beach is an unincorporated seaside community in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located eighteen miles (29 km) southeast of downtown Jacksonville and 26 miles (42 km) north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches area. It is an upmarket tourist resort area best known for its association with golf. The Sawgrass development is the home of the ATP Tour, the PGA Tour, and The Players Championship, played at the TPC at Sawgrass.
The area is known for its resorts including the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club (a AAA five diamond resort), the Lodge and Club (four diamonds), and the Marriott at Sawgrass (three diamonds). It also lies in the third wealthiest county in Florida, ranking just behind the Palm Beach and Naples areas.
There are multiple beach clubs from the Lodge and Club to the Cabana Club and the Plantation Club. Between the residential neighborhoods lining Ponte Vedra Boulevard there are many public accesses between Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve. Golf, tennis, and boating are other popular activities. Wakeboarding, surfing, and waterskiing are a few activities that families and sports enthusiasts practice on the St. Johns River.
The area remained sparsely populated through the late 19th century, even as other seaside communities began to develop to the north. In 1914 minerals were discovered, and a community known as Mineral City grew up around the mining operations there. Titanium extraction was significant, as well as that of zircon and rutile. These minerals were recovered from beach sands by a private commercial firm called National Lead Company, directed by Henry Holland Buckman and George A. Pritchard. During World War I titanium was a component of poison gas, and therefore a strategic mineral.
After the war, mineral demand dropped, so the National Lead Company changed its focus to building a resort community.
In the early 1920s, the National Lead Company had built a 9-hole golf course and 12-room clubhouse constructed of logs for the use of their employees. After the company left Ponte Vedra, that real estate became the foundation of the Ponte Vedra Club. Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co. was a developer of Ponte Vedra Beach in the early 1930s and owned the Ponte Vedra Club.
Mandarin
The Mandarin area of Jacksonville, Florida is rich in history and has been a popular family community for more than 20 years. Primarily rural until the 1970's when developers discovered this area, Mandarin has experienced steady growth since, but mostly built out by the late 1990's. If quality education is a priority for your family, no other area in Duval County (Jacksonville) has as highly rated public schools across the board. Bordered by Julington Creek to the south and the St. Johns River to the west, there is no shortage of waterfront homesites in Mandarin.
Mandarin is also one of the only areas in Jacksonville, Florida east of the St. Johns River where homes on acreage are still easy to come by, including the occasional home on several acres with equestrian amenities. While Mandarin is not known as one of the least expensive areas to live in Northeast Florida, homes have recently become more affordable starting below the $100's ranging all the way up to several million for riverfront estate homes. The Beauclerc area of Jacksonville, Florida is located directly North of Mandarin (North of I-295) in Jacksonville. Like Mandarin, Beauclerc also features several miles of riverfront homes along the St. Johns.
Ortega
Ortega is a neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida, US. It is located south of downtown Jacksonville on a peninsula off the western bank of the St. Johns River. It is one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Jacksonville and is among the wealthiest in the United States, and is the location of many historic homes and buildings.
Riverside
Riverside is a neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida; it is located south of downtown Jacksonville on the St. Johns River. It comprises an area roughly bordered by U.S. Route 17 (Roosevelt Boulevard) and the CSX Railroad (formerly Atlantic Coast Line Railroad) to the west, Interstate 10 to the north, and the St. Johns River to the east. To the south is the adjacent neighborhood of Avondale, though the boundary between them is not clear cut.
Riverside contains the Five Points area, a historic commercial district. The Riverside Historic District was added to the National Register
Southside
Southside, or South Jacksonville, is one of the large sections of Jacksonville. It is generally said to include all land in Duval County east and south of the St. Johns River and south of Arlington, and west of the Intracoastal Waterway. It includes substantial residential developments and neighborhoods and some currently undeveloped land. Since the 1990s, it has been the fastest growing part of Jacksonville
Westside
Like Northside, Westside or West Jacksonville is one of the traditional large sections of Jacksonville. It refers to large section of Jacksonville west of Downtown and the interior neighborhoods, including both populated areas and a vast tract of undeveloped land. Neighborhoods sometimes included as part of the Westside include Argyle, Avondale, Cedar Forest, Cedar Hills, Cedar Hills Estates, Chimney Lakes, Confederate Point, Duclay, Duclay Forest, Fairfax, Fairfax Manor, Lakeside Park, Lake Shore, Herlong, Hillcrest, Hyde Park, Hyde Grove, Jax Farms, Jacksonville Heights, Maxville, McGirts Creek, Murray Hill, Normandy Manor, Normandy Village, Oak Hill, Ortega, Ortega Farms, Ortega Forest, Ortega Hills, Otis, Riverside, Rolling Hills, Settlers Landing, Sweetwater, Springtree, Venetia, Wesconnett, Whitehouse, Yukon and West Jacksonville.
Argyle - Located in Jacksonville’s Westside, the Argyle area is normally known as the area along Argyle Forest Blvd, extending from the east at Blanding Blvd to the west at Brannan Field Road where Duval County meets the border of Clay County at OakLeaf Plantation. The Argyle area is comprised of land originally owned by the Spencer family and many of the neighborhoods have names that tie to the Spencer’s. The Argyle area offers many options for families, including a baseball and softball park, access to many shopping and restaurant options at the OakLeaf shopping center. The elementary school, Chimney Lakes Elementary is a six year “A” classified school and is centrally located just behind the intersection of Argyle Forest Blvd and Cheswick Oak Ave. This area offers many housing options in many different planned communities that offer extensive amenities to their residents.
Murray Hill (Heights) in Jacksonville took the name of a neighborhood in Manhattan, New York City. Created in 1907, it was a replant from the Edgewood subdivision. The town of Murray Hill was incorporated in 1915 with its own mayor. The Lackawanna railroad terminal was located nearby, and many workers built homes there. The City of Jacksonville annexed the town on August 15, 1925.
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