The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1914-05-06
JACKSONVILLE
AND THE REUNION
Veterans viii Find a Modern,
Progressive City
Many Points Of Historic Interest To
2. Visited By Survivors Of Gray
Amy During Week.

Jacksonville. F1a--When the Con
fete-ate veterans and their friends as
semb.e here for theiE 2ith annua. re
union. they will be introduced 10 a city
and community. proud of the present
and loya. TO the ideals Of the old South.
Making Jacksonville the hub OF
wheel twenty-five miles in diameter,
z territory is covered rich In historic
associations and interest and at the
same time a fl exponent OF all that
!s progressive in the Southern States.
Jacksonville is a city OF $4,000 popu'
ls,lon. with handsome business BLOCKS,
modern skyscrapers, commodious no
te.s and residence sections that com
pare fayorably with the best IN the
country. The city's business has
grown into large proportions. emoTac'
Ing every line known TO modern
city. Jacksonville OF to-day is IN all
respects a thriving center OF trade
and commerce, much Of its commerce
going across the seas into foreign
countries GU GNtdA
transportation facilities are superb.
both by rail and water. Railroads
feeding the great Florida peninsula
center here Thousands OF tourists
| and uncounted tons Of freight pass
through the city and port every year,
the one hunting health and pleasure
| the other scattering out over the civil
| lied world TO do its part in supplying
the demands OF the consumers OF the
earth.
And while the visitors are enjoying
/ this view and prospect Of modern
business and community thrift. they
will be given an opportunity TO look
! down the past three hundred and fifty
years. All OF this territory was In dis
pute three and a half centuries ago
between the French and Spanish. with
the wild Indian holding the balance OF
power between the combatants The
Frenchman and the Spaniard beth laid
claim to the Florida territory Which
was first to discover 1t is matter
over which historians differ, but II Is
we'll authenticated that the first white
men to set foot upon the soil now COW
cred by Jacksonville were Frenchmer
under Rene Laudonnere.
The first white man to enter the
mouth OF the st. Johns river was
Jean Ribault, in command OF a com
pany OF Huguenots. who had left
France because OF religious persecu
tions He made his landing on May
/, 562. fifty years after the landing
OF Ponce de Leon at point to the
south OF Jacksonville Some histori-
ans are of the opinion that Ponce de
Leon sailed as far north as the mouth
OF the St Johns, but the weight OF
evidence is against this opinion II
he were here he left no trace. The
evidence IS that he did not travel In
direction from his original landing
that would have brought him TO the
vicinity OF Jacksonville. 1t IS thor
oughly established that Ribault en-
tered the mouth of the-St Johns river
May l, 1862, and sailed up the river
some miles to a bluff, where he erect
| Ell ElOut NuluiilH Oll " llAA u no ~
scribed the arms of France. But Ri
| bault did not ascend the river as high
as Jacksonville He went from the
mouth of the river to Port Royal, S. G.
In 1864, one year after the depar
turs OF Ribault. Rene Laudonnere,
who had been with Ribault on the
first expedition. came to the mouth OF
the ST. Johns with another colony OF
Huguenots. and ascended the river as
far as the present site of Jacksonville,
camping probably on the south side Of
the river on territory now covered
by South Jacksonville. These were
the first white men to penetrate the
country above the mouth OF the river.
In honor of the day Of discovery. May
|, Ribault gave the river the name of
| May, and this stood until the Span
iards whipped out the. French. some
years later The Spaniards called II
the River San Mateo at first. but later
changed its name to San Juan. From
! this IL finally became the St. Johns.
| Old Fort Caroline was situated at st
Johns bluff some miles below the
city of Jacksonville. No sign OF this
historic fort remains. not even a slab
to commemorate its mournful story.
During the reunion. steamboat ex-
cursions will be rup to all these points
OF historic interest on the St Johns
river. II is but twenty-seveu miles
from Jacksonville to the mouth OF the
st. Johns, where the government has
constructed. with the aid OF Jackson.
Vile. and the State Of Florida, a sys,
TEN OF jetties. deepened the water on
the bar aud otherwise protected navi
CATION. In passing between Jackson
vile and the jettles. the visitor will
have no trouble locating the sites OF
old forts that were erected nearly four
hundred years ago by the French and
Spanish. The trip is one OF the most
delightful In the Southern States.
While Jacksonville has not adver
tised itself as large manufacturing
city. OF recent years many large indus