The Era-leader. [volume] (Franklinton, La.) 1910-current, 1914-04-23
JACKSONVILLE =
And the REUNION
Veterans Will Find a Modern,
Progressive City
Many Points of Historic interest," ~
Be Visited BY Survivors OF oray
Army During Week.

semble here for their Oath annual re-
union, they will be introduced to city
and community, proud of the present
and loyal to the ideals Of the OLD South.
Making Jacksonville the hub OF
wheel twenty-five miles IN diameter,
q territory is covered rich in historic
associations and interest and at the
same time fit exponent OF all that
IS progressive in the Southern States.
Jacksonville is a city of $4,000 popu'
lation, with handsome business blocks,
modern skyscrapers, commodlous no
tets ana residence sections that COM
pare fayorably with the best In the
country. The city's business mas
grown into large proportions, embrac'
ing every line known to a 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 on ocean steamships. Its
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 it's 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 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 both laid
claim to the Florida territory. Which
was first to discover it is matter
over which historians, differ, bu: 1t Is
well authenticated that the first white
men to set foot upon the soil now COW
cred by Jacksonville were Frenchmer
under Rene Landowners.
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 lef
France because of religious persecu
tons. He made his landing on Ma!
: /, 1862, fifty years after the landing
;; of Ponce de Leon at point to tn
south of Jacksonville. Some histori
Y ans are of the opinion that Ponce d.
Leon sailed as far north as the moutl
D of the St.. Johns, but the weight o
u evidence is against this opinion. |
he were here he left no trace. Tn
: evidence Is that he did not travel II
9 a direction from his original landin
n that would have brought him to tn
d vicinity of Jacksonville. 1t is tho,
! oughly established that Ribault er
" tered the mouth of the st. Johns rive
S May /, 1862, and sailed up the rive
W some miles to bluff, where he cree
. ed a stone column on which was II
scribed the arms of France. But R
q bault did not ascend the river az hig
,e as Jacksonville. He went from tn
a mouth of the river to Port Royal, s.
W In 1864, one year after the depa
+, ture of Ribault, Rene Landowner
=, who had been with Ribault on tn
n n first expedition, came to the mouth {
!. the St. Johns with another colony {
> Huguenots, and assembled the river 8
a far as the present site Of Jacksonvill
e camping probably on the south side {
$, the river on territory now covere
:, by South Jacksonville. These wei
the first white men to penetrate tt
-. country above the mouth of the rive
- In honor of the day of discovery, Ms
l, Ribault gave the river the name
~ May, and this stood until the Spa
H. iards whipped out the French, son
years later. The Spaniards called
the River San Mateo at first, but lat
d. changed its name to San Juan. Fro
1 this 1t finally became the st. John
Old Fort Caroline was situated at
Johns bluff some miles below Il
city Of Jacksonville. No sign of tn
9 historic fort remains, not even a sl
9 to commemorate its mournful stol
During the reunion, steamboat {
cursions will be run to all these poin
9 of historic interest on the St. job
river. It is but twenty-seven mil
from Jacksonville to the mouth Of t
. st. Johns, where the government
9 constructed, with the aid Of Jacksc
9 vile, and the State of Florida, a s.
tenn of jetties, deepened the water
4 the bar and otherwise protected ma
a cation. In passing between Jackst
vile and the jetties, the visitor W
have no trouble locating the sites
+ old forts that were erected nearly 70
4 hundred years ago by the French a
Spanish. The trip is one of the MI
delightful in the Southern StateSG