Free local news and info, in your inbox at 6 a.m. M-F. Today,The Jaxson takes a look into the working waterfront history of Jacksonville’s urban core. Produced by the Jacksonville Port Bureau and the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce, this collection of historic photographs capture the maritime and industrial character of the city’s riverfront in 1930.
1. Port of Jacksonville
In 1930, Jacksonville was a rapidly growing city of 130,000 residents. The 1920s Florida land boom resulted in the Port of Jacksonville transforming from the comparative obscurity of a specialty port, mainly serving the lumber, mining and naval stores industries operating in the region, to being the most important clearing place for imports and exports on the South Atlantic Seaboard. The growth of the port also coincided with the expansion of commerce between the U.S. and Latin America.
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2. Shrimp fleet
The shrimp fleet in Jacksonville’s harbor in 1930. The industry truly took off in 1913 when Capt. Billy Corkum introduced the otter trawl for shrimping in Fernandina Beach. This innovation allowed fishermen to work in deeper waters and target areas where shrimp were most abundant, dramatically increasing yields.
3. Exports ramp up
The loading of fresh citrus for export in 1929. At the time, the principal commodities exported at Jacksonville were rosin, turpentine, scrap steel, iron and rail, pine lumber, mixed lumber, manufactured iron and steel, citrus fruits, autos and parts, machinery, sulphur, canned grapefruit, beet pulp, pine logs, flour and meal and crushed oyster shells.
4. Riverfront terminals
The Merchants and Miners Transportation Co. (top) and Clyde Line (bottom) terminals along Downtown’s riverfront.
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