Ennis Davis

3 days ago | thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis

The USG Jacksonville plant today. In 1896, recognizing the value of Florida’s cypress and timberlands, Wellington Wilson Cummer established the Cummer Lumber Company at Sandfly Point. The sawmill quickly grew into the Jacksonville area’s largest employer. With business thriving, the adjacent area developed into a community providing housing, shops and other amenities for the mill workers. This area became known as Milldale.

4 days ago | thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis

The BeginningThe Jones-Chambliss Meat Packers plant viewed from the railroad. | University of FloridaThe Jones-Chambliss Company was officially incorporated in January 1911 with a capital investment of $30,000. The company name was a fusion of its founders’ names, Charles A. Jones and John O. Chambliss. That same year, John Chambliss partnered with Walter and William Graddick, Barney Hart, Robert Stewart, and William Smith to establish the Jacksonville Cattle Company at 406 Forest Street.

1 week ago | thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis

The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp paid tribute to the city’s historic Eastside neighborhood by rebranding as the Jacksonville Honey Drippers for two Memorial Day weekend games against the Memphis Redbirds. As part of the celebration, the team donned specially designed Honey Drippers hats and jerseys. Fans attending Honey Drippers Weekend at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena were also treated to the city’s iconic frozen treat.

3 weeks ago | thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis

Downtown’s Main StreetLooking north at the intersection of Main and Forsyth Streets during the 1950s. | National Archives CatalogOn February 24, 1893, Jacksonville’s Main Street made history as the site of Florida’s first electric streetcar line, connecting Downtown Jacksonville to the growing neighborhood of Springfield.

1 month ago | thejaxsonmag.com | Ennis Davis

An early 20th century photograph of Duval Laundry. | Gary WatsonIn 1901, Thomas Hilditch founded the Hilditch Steam Laundry on Washington Street, near Jacksonville’s Old City Cemetery. By 1915, Hilditch had partnered with Thomas Burroughs to construct a large, modern laundry facility at 413 East 9th Street in Springfield. The newly built two-story brick plant stood adjacent to a prominent lumber mill operated by the J.C. Halsema Manufacturing Company.