Article by Ennis Davis, AICP

The story of Englewood

The Southside neighborhood of Englewood is at the forefront of the city’s demographic shift into a minority-majority community. One of the Southside’s oldest neighborhoods, the Englewood subdivision was first platted in 1926 by Lawrence and Edith B. Pearce. Pearce arrived in Jacksonville in 1925. After working with the Mason Lumber Company for several years, he formed the Lawrence C. Pearce Development Company in 1945 with friend Frank Uible.

Then located outside of Jacksonville’s city limits along Little Pottsburg Creek, Englewood became a popular White flight destination with Pearce and Uible taking advantage of the redlining of the city’s Urban Core, being near the city’s first enclosed shopping mall, and low-cost home mortgages provided to World War II veterans.

Renamed the Pearce-Uible Company in the 1950s, the development firm grew to become Jacksonville’s largest post war builder, eventually becoming the Fortune 500 Charter Company during the 1970s. Among their many developments were Southside Estates, San Jose, Arlington Manor, Grove Park, Sandalwood, Harborview, Normandy Village, Normandy and Spring Park Manor.

A 1943 aerial of Englewood. (University of Florida Digital Collections)

A 1960 aerial of Englewood. (University of Florida Digital Collections)

A 1970 aerial of Englewood. (University of Florida Digital Collections)

During the 1960s, Englewood became of the few established suburban neighborhoods in the city to be severed in half by the construction of Interstate 95. With the city continuing to grow outward, by the late 20th century, the neighborhood had evolved into an established, aging community characterized by modest ranch-style housing and mid-century apartment developments.

A map of Jacksonville illustrating highest concentration of Mexican ancestry by neighborhood. Source: https://statisticalatlas.com/place/Florida/Jacksonville/Ancestry

With the trend of White flight now spilling over into neighboring counties, Englewood has morphed to become one of the Jacksonville’s most culturally diverse areas and home to a rapidly growing Mexican-American community. Today, more than 20 percent of the neighborhood’s residents are Hispanic and a number of businesses catering to the community have opened in recent years.

Next Page: Englewood photo tour

La Guadalupana Tienda Mexicana at 3157 Spring Park Road.