25. A piece of Orange Street that dates back to the old days of Hansontown.

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28. The St. Joseph Missionary Baptist Church was established in 1930. In 1950, the congregation completed this building in Hansontown. While nearly all of the buildings and streets were removed in Hansontown, the church survived. Although the congregation has moved to a larger location one block north, the old building stands in the middle of an FSCJ parking lot.

29. A glimpse of the Northbank skyline from FSCJ’s Administration Building.

30. Although FSCJ is adjacent to JTA’s Rosa Parks Transit Center, a fence severs FSCJ’s direct access to the adjacent Skyway station.

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32. By the 1970s, the majority of commercial and industrial buildings between Julia and Main Streets had become filled with automotive uses. This building was originally owned by Massey Motors, Inc. This auto dealership business was established by W.W. Massey Sr. in 1938. By the 1970s, the chain had 10 dealerships in Florida and South Georgia, including Southside Dodge, Westside Dodge, Massey Dodge, Regency Dodge and Massey-Mixon Chrysler Plymouth in Jacksonville.

33. A fenced in surface parking lot sits on the former site of the Hart Monument. For 50 years, the tomb of Jacksonville founder Isiah Hart, and eight family members, was located near the present day intersection of Laura and Orange Streets. When Hart constructed the 35’ tall Hart Monument in 1852, the site was on the outskirts of town. Ironically by the late 19th century, the tomb of the man who made his riches off slave trading, was surrounded by neighborhoods populated by freedmen and their descendants. In 1896, the tomb was desecrated by grave robbers and a few years later it was toasted in the Great Fire of 1901. Although still standing, the Hart family graves were relocated to Evergreen Cemetery and the tob was dismantled in 1902.

34. 1913 sanborn map illustrating a section of Hansontown.

35. The parking lot in the foreground of this photograph was once the site of the Chapman Carriage Factory.

Article and photographs by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com

Sources include the Historic Preservation Section, Jacksonville Planning and Development Department and the Jacksonville Public Library Special Collections Department.