The Great Jacksonville Fire

I had been living in Jacksonville for a few years when I visited the Jacksonville Historical Society and learned about the "Great Fire of 1901". The city of Jacksonville had for all intents and purposes burned to the ground. 2,368 buildings were destroyed, 146 city blocks decimated, and 10,000 people left homeless.

The Historical Society had some of the only photos of Jacksonville that existed prior to the fire. I am pleased to report that many of these have now been scanned and are part of the Florida Photographic Collection.

If you haven't taken a look at the larger collection known as the Florida Memory Project, you should do so. There are photographs, video, music, and educational activities that can be done with information in these collections.