JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Take a look around Jacksonville today — the skyline, the neighborhoods, even the way the city operates. None of it happened by accident.
As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday next month, historians are reflecting on the handful of moments that transformed Jacksonville from a small river town into one of the South’s most recognizable cities.
A fire that changed everything
The date was May 3, 1901. A fire broke out at a mattress factory in the La Villa neighborhood, and by the end of the afternoon, most of downtown Jacksonville was gone.
“Probably the most significant day in Jacksonville history was the day the town burned down,” said Dr. Wayne Wood, author and historian. “The great fire of Jacksonville was May 3rd, 1901, when a fire at a mattress factory over La Villa blazed up in the embers rained down on the city, and one afternoon, the city of Jacksonville burned.”…