(Source of image: Florida State Archives)

This picture may've been snapped in the mid 1960s, not long after this portion of the Jacksonville Expressway was constructed.  The highway system, begun in the mid Fifties, made town travel much smoother.  The old Gator Bowl, now Alltell Stadium, is shown in the upper center.  To the right of this facility is Wolfson baseball park, which dated from 1955.  Just behind Wolfson is part of the round Veterans Memorial Coliseum, lauded as the "Sports Mecca of the South" after it opened in 1960.  Both structures have been razed and are being replaced under the Better Jacksonville Plan.

Here are even more of the top websites for students, writers, & history buffs!  Click on the category that you want to explore.

 Names & Occupations, Worldwide

Clothing, Worldwide

Food & Medicine throughout History

Old Money & Measures, Worldwide

American History in General

  American History by Time Period

  Language, Folklore, & Pop Culture in the USA

Specific American Places – Florida, the South, etc.

US Immigrants & African Americans

CLICK HERE FOR HISTORY

WEBSITES, PART ONE

NAMES & OCCUPATIONS

NAME ~ "Given Names"  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.potifos.com/given.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  America, 1900-1977.  CONTENT ~ Yields lists of the ten most popular male and female given names (first names) from 1900 to 1977 in order of popularity.  Were derived from Michigan state driver's licenses.  EXAMPLES ~ In the year 1900, the top ten female names, beginning with #1, were as follows: Mary, Helen, Anna, Margaret, Esther, Lillian, Florence, Ruth, Ethel, and Marie.

NAME ~  "Occupations" page of the genealogy website "Cyndi's List." ADDRESS  ~ http://www.cyndislist.com/occupatn.htm TIME & COVERAGE ~ Largely European and American in focus, though with some exceptions.  Mostly covers the last 500 years.  CONTENT ~ Over 225 links to websites dealing with the history of various occupations.  EXAMPLES ~ "The Journeymen Brushmakers," "The Feather Trade," "Canal People," "Occupations in Colonial India," and "Dressmakers in Brooklyn, 1895."

CLOTHING

NAME ~ "Clothing & Costumes" webpage at the family history website, "Cyndi's List."  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.cyndislist.com/clothing.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ World-wide, all time periods.  CONTENT ~ More than 100 links to websites dealing with the history of clothing & costumes.  EXAMPLES ~ One link goes to a website for "Dye History from 2600 BC to the 20th Century."  Another website covers the history of men's collars.  According to this site, collars "were used to help preserve shirts. Since men usually wore under shirts the places of most contact between skin and shirt was at the collar and the cuffs. By making a removable collar and cuff that could be washed separately you didn¹t have to wash the shirt as often. They came into being around the 1860¹s when clothing was expensive and hand made for the most part. Once the factories started making clothing in mass production, making clothing less expensive and more available the separate collar and cuff didn¹t save any time or resources any more. They ended in the 1930s."

NAME ~ "The Costume Gallery Research Library."  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.costumegallery.com/research.htm" TIME & COVERAGE ~  World-wide, 1800s through 1900s.  CONTENT ~ Wonderfully informative & creative overview of fashions, given by time period.  EXAMPLES ~ "In November 1922, an archeological discovery inspired Egyptian influences on current fashion.  The discovery of the tomb of the ancient Egyptian pharaoh...  King Tut...  inspired designs in many fashion categories:  ladies clothing, jewelry, shoes, perfume, cosmetics and hair styles...  Many uniquely Egyptian motives were used: hieroglyphics (ancient Egyptian writing symbols), lotus flowers , the scarab (a beetle which symbolized the ancient Egyptian god Kepera which was associated with life, resurrection and rebirth), mummies, sphinxes, and more.  Colors such as 'nile' green were popular; for jewelry, gold and lapis lazuli were important.  Almost every element of women's dress was touched by Egyptian influence during the 1920s."

NAME ~ Webpage "Costume History" at the site entitled "The Costumer's Manifesto." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.costumes.org/pages/costhistpage.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Planet-wide, all time periods.  CONTENT ~ Provides many links to website for the history of clothing styles.  EXAMPLES ~ Even includes "Corsets & Underwear," "Ethnic Dress," and "Weird Clothing."  Did you know that there are websites for paper dresses, bubble wrap clothing, and "hats of meat"?

NAME ~  "Historical Boys' Clothing" ADDRESS  ~ "http://histclo.hispeed.com/index2.html" TIME & COVERAGE ~  Focus is on Western culture during the past 500 years. Primary concentration is on the modern era. CONTENT ~ "First and foremost we describe actual fashions and styles... There are currently about 6,000 pages in the HBC complex with over 8,000 black and white and color images. Many have never before been published."  EXAMPLES ~ "Parents, especially mothers, used to choose their sons' clothing and until they were older teenagers, the boys had little say in the matter of fashion... Children, especially well off children, were often dressed in fancy, formal clothes--even for play... It would certainly inhibit an active child who wanted to enjoy the playground in the contemporary scene. The modern child, even very young children, have a great deal of say in how they dress, often demanding expensive designer clothing... Boys no longer sneer at fashion the way they once did. Many boys are now as concerned with fashion as the girls."

NAME ~ "Widow's Weeds:  Mourning Fashions of the Victorian Era." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.mourningmatters.com/mourningmatters-article.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  Mostly Europe and America during the later 1800s.  CONTENT ~ Describes how widows dressed when in mourning.  Is part of a larger website entitled "Mourning Matters: Educational & Special Programs Dedicated to Victorian Mourning."  EXAMPLES ~ "Mourning for the widow would last usually two and-a-half years. Within this mourning were four distinctive stages of mourning. It seems that in the later part of the Victorian era, three stages were more common. The first was being the deepest period of mourning lasting on the average of a year and a day. Dresses were to be two pieces consisting of a bodice and a skirt. The poor woman may make a dress out of cotton, or even dye an existing dress black. A middleclass woman would have chosen a black wool, cotton or even silk. An upper-class woman would have had the latest fashion made up plainly in silk or wool." 

NAME ~  "The Food Timeline." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.gti.net/mocolib1/kid/food.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Planet-wide, from 17,000 BC to 2002 AD.  CONTENT ~ Extremely detailed timeline providing milestones in food history.  Descriptions & histories are also given for each food named.  Be sure to see the webpage about historic food prices.  EXAMPLES ~ Pound cake made its first appearance in 1740, Jell-O in 1897, omelets in the 1st century, Buffalo Wings in 1964, and popcorn in 3600 BC.

NAME ~ "Forgotten Medical Cures"  ADDRESS  ~ http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Hills/8929/cures.html  TIME & COVERAGE ~  Appears to be mostly American content from the early to mid 1900s.  CONTENT ~ Hundreds of old-time cures organized by disorder.  Range from ague & asthma to ulcers & warts.  Cures were submitted by Net users.  EXAMPLES ~ "We had an old fashioned pediatrician, and when our daughter got a bad bout of diaper rash, we were told to mix Maalox or any antacid with cold cream and put on.  I guess the antacid removes the acid from the skin and the cold cream keeps it in place and cool...It worked the best!!  And it was much faster to help heal!"

NAME ~ "From Quackery to Bacteriology: The Emergence of Modern Medicine in 19th Century America."  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.cl.utoledo.edu/canaday/quackery/quack-index.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ America during the 1800s.  CONTENT ~ Covers various aspects of medical history, from mental health to women's health.  Includes Civil War medicine.  EXAMPLES ~ "Female mental health problems were generally viewed as pathological.  The Victorian view of females as weak, fragile, and childlike served as both cause and effect, creating generations of repressed, suffering women made worse by harsh treatment.  Hysteria, the 'daughter's disease,' was common, and believed to be caused by aberrations in the reproductive system."

OLD MONEY & MEASURES

NAME ~ "The Inflation Calculator"  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.westegg.com/inflation/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  United States, 1800 to 2001.  CONTENT ~ Allows you to convert yesterday's money into today's.  Just type in a dollar amount and then pick a year (all the way back to 1800 if you want).  EXAMPLES ~ For $7,500 in 1933, you could buy a new, two-story house in Avondale (Jacksonville, Florida).  Considering inflation, how much would this be today?  About $94,000! 

NAME ~ "Current Value of Old Money"  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.ex.ac.uk/~RDavies/arian/current/howmuch.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  World history, ancient to recent.  CONTENT ~ Several dozen links to websites showing how today's prices compares to those of yesteryear.  EXAMPLES ~ "Comparisons of purchasing power are only reliable over short periods.  A typical computer in 2001 is a very different machine from its counterpart of 5 years ago.  Indices of inflation fail to take proper account of improvements in quality."

NAME ~ "Money" page of the genealogy website "Cyndi's List." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.cyndislist.com/money.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Planet-wide, ancient to modern.  CONTENT ~ Links having to do with history of money.  EXAMPLES ~ One link goes to a website devoted to the currency of the Republic of Texas.

NAME ~  "Weights & Measures" page of the family history website "Cyndi's List."  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.cyndislist.com/weights.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Planet-wide, ancient through modern.  CONTENT ~ Over 35 links to websites for determining weights & measures, including historic.  EXAMPLES ~ According to the site entitled "A Dictionary of Units," "In England, units of measurement were not properly standardized until the 13th century, though variations (and abuses) continued until long after that.  For example, there were three gallons (ale, wine, and corn) up until 1824 when the gallon was standardized."

NAME ~  "History Matters." ADDRESS  ~ "http://historymatters.gmu.edu/"  TIME & COVERAGE  ~  All periods of US history.  CONTENT ~ This website emphasizes "materials that focus on the lives of ordinary Americans..."  It provides an "annotated guide to the most useful Web sites for teaching U.S. history and social studies."  It also offers "primary documents in text, image, and audio."  EXAMPLES ~ The site gives a letter written by a "tramp" during the 1890s.  According to "History Matters," "The word 'tramp' came into common usage in the 1870s as a disparaging description of homeless men thrown out of work by the economic depression and forced to take to the road in search of a job or food.  Fears of the 'tramp menace' were revived during the even more devastating depression that began in 1893.  Many Americans viewed tramps with a combination of fear and disgust.  In this 1893 letter to Kansas governor Lorenzo Dow Lewelling, out-of-work cook R. L. Robinson expressed dismay for the harsh treatment he and a traveling companion received while looking for work in Kewanee, Kansas.  Lewelling was far more sympathetic to jobless travelers than other government officials, in part, from personal experience.  He himself had wandered the roads in search of work in the 1870s depression."

NAME ~  "HistoryCentral.com: History's Home on the Internet." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.multied.com/index.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Easy to navigate site provides mostly American history, but also some world history, prehistoric through modern.  CONTENT ~ World history chronology and online almanacs.  Also, info & links regarding America's wars, presidential elections, primary sources, prominent citizens of the past, and trains, planes, & ships. 

NAME ~ "American Memory" website, furnished by the Library of Congress.  ADDRESS  ~ "http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amhome.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ All of American history.  CONTENT ~ Staggering number of books, documents, periodicals, papers, petitions, correspondence, maps, pictures, photos, advertising, sheet music publications, etc.  EXAMPLES ~ "This digital collection presents 7,949 publicity brochures, promotional advertisements and talent circulars for some 4,546 performers who were part of the Chautauqua circuit... Performers and lecturers were familiar names as popular entertainers or well known in the political, religious, and cultural worlds..

NAME ~ "Making of America" ("MOA").  ADDRESS  ~ "http://moa.umdl.umich.edu/" TIME & COVERAGE ~ US history, from the pre-Civil War era through Reconstruction.  CONTENT ~ Over three million pages of material written during that time.  EXAMPLES ~ One article briefly discusses how Hogans Creek might or might not figure into the defense of Jacksonville during the Civil War.

NAME ~ "Photographs & Memories" page of the genealogy website "Cyndi's List."  ADDRESS ~ http://www.cyndislist.com/photos.htm   TIME & COVERAGE ~ Mostly American, 1800s & 1900s.  CONTENT ~ Gives several dozen links to websites containing photo collections.  EXAMPLES ~ One site is devoted to World War I portraits.

NAME ~ "History and Politics Out Loud."  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.hpol.org/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Mostly US history during the 20th century, with emphasis on the mid 1900s.  CONTENT ~ Many of the materials are speeches by prominent Americans.  EXAMPLES ~ A speech by Martin Luther King, Jr., a fireside chat by President Franklin Roosevelt, and "New York's Birthday Salute to John F. Kennedy."

AMERICAN HISTORY BY TIME PERIOD

NAME ~ "Selected Civil War Photographs," from the "American Memory" website, Library of Congress. ADDRESS  ~ "http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/cwphtml/cwphome.html"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ American Civil War.  CONTENT ~ 100's of period photos.  EXAMPLES ~ Includes an interesting feature entitled "Does the Camera Ever Lie?"

NAME ~ "Temperance & Prohibition," maintained by a professor at Ohio State University.  ADDRESS  ~ "http://prohibition.history.ohio-state.edu/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  America's Prohibition period (1920-1933).  CONTENT ~ Text and links in regard to the history of Prohibition.  EXAMPLES ~ Includes sections providing info & illustrations for Prohibition cartoons, "old-time saloons," and the growth of the brewing industry.

NAME ~ "The New Deal Network," from Columbia University.  ADDRESS  ~ "http://newdeal.feri.org/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  America during the Great Depression (1929-1941).  CONTENT ~ "A database of more than 20,000 items relating to the New Deal."  Includes letters, reports, speeches, advertisements, cartoons, photos, and newspaper articles.  Offers approximately 100 annotated links to related sites. EXAMPLES ~ Items range from photos of Depression-era zoos to family mementoes that had been hidden away in shoeboxes, scrapbooks, and photo albums.  One feature shows Depression-era life as experienced by students in a New York high school.  This feature alone contains 193 poems, articles, and short stories, as well as 295 graphics.

LANGUAGE, FOLKLORE, & POP CULTURE IN THE USA

NAME ~  “Amerispeak: Expressions of Our American Ancestors.”   ADDRESS  ~  "http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/amerispeak.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ American history, all time periods.  CONTENT ~ Well-organized site gives hundreds of old sayings & expressions.  EXAMPLES ~ They said: A donut with no hole is a danish. We say: Whatever you call it, it's still a donut.  They said: I've seen better heads on nickel beers. We say: A little ugly.

NAME ~ "The Authentic History Center." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.authentichistory.com/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ American history, pre-Civil War to recent times.  CONTENT ~ Fascinating rump through American pop culture.  Lots of images provided.  EXAMPLES ~ Examples include sharp images of a sharpshooter poster from the Civil War, anti-alcohol buttons from Prohibition, Cold War products that used atomic bombs as a motif, and an old Charles Atlas ad ("Hey Skinny, Yer Ribs Are Showing!").

NAME ~  "Ad*Access," from Duke University.  ADDRESS  ~ "http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/adaccess/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  About 1910 to the 1950s.  CONTENT ~  A fun, informative, and easy-to-navigate website that offers thousands of advertisements, mostly from the US.  The ads include those for airlines, buses, trains, ships, rental cars, cosmetics, soaps, shaving supplies, radios & radio programs, TV sets & programs, and World War II things, such as V-mail and bond drives.  EXAMPLES ~ Dating from 1944, an ad for TV sets asked "ARE YOU READY FOR TELEVISION?  The time for America to revise its concepts of its living-rooms, its classrooms, its town halls...  For full-scale Television is near... a force of unlabelled power."  A year later, another TV ad featured movie actress Betty Hutton ("The Greatest Show on Earth," "Annie Get Your Gun").  The blond bombshell purred "I'll practically be in your lap -- on DuMont Television!"

NAME ~ "American Folklore Center," furnished by the Library of Congress.  ADDRESS  ~ "http://lcweb.loc.gov/folklife/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  Covers American pop culture.  Mostly focuses on the latter 1800s & early 1900s.  CONTENT ~ This amazing web site allows you to play American recordings that were made during the 1930s & 1940s.  EXAMPLES ~ Rehear lullabies & "jook songs," track-laying chants & children's jingles, quitting time hollers & fish vendor cries, and much, much more.  For instance, two recordings come from a blind African American singer who grew up in South Jacksonville.  She recalled a sermon & chant that were used by children playing church.  The title of her recordings are "Children's Sermon."

SPECIFIC US PLACES – FLORIDA, THE SOUTH, ETC.

NAME ~ "Documenting the American South," from the University of North Carolina.  ADDRESS  ~ "http://docsouth.unc.edu/"  TIME & COVERAGE  ~  From the colonial period through the first decades of the 20^th century.  CONTENT ~ This website offers "a collection of sources on Southern history, literature and culture..." Some of the site "focuses on the diaries, autobiographies, memoirs, travel accounts, and ex-slave narratives of relatively inaccessible populations: women, African Americans, enlisted men, laborers, and Native Americans."  EXAMPLES ~ Four online books provided by the site include (1) The War-Time Journal of a Georgia Girl, 1854-1865, (2) Fifty Years in Chains (The Life of an American Slave), (3) Forget-me-nots of the Civil War (A Romance... of Two Confederate Soldiers), and (4) My Own Life: Or, a Deserted Wife.

NAME ~  "JacksonvilleStory.com"  ADDRESS  ~ www.JacksonvilleStory.com TIME & COVERAGE ~ Focuses largely on Jacksonville, but also provides some Florida info & links.  From prehistoric era through modern times.  CONTENT ~ Jacksonville local and family history.  EXAMPLES ~ In 1955, "The Creature from the Black Lagoon" almost drowned in Jacksonville!  A movie sequel scene was being filmed at the Lobster House, a once-popular Southbank restaurant located where the River City Brewery is today.  A stuntman playing the creature came close to losing his life in the St. Johns River.  He had to contend with jellyfish, strong currents, a heavy creature suit, and blinding movie lights. 

NAME ~ "Florida Photographic Collection," furnished by the Florida State Archives.  ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.floridamemory.com/PhotographicCollection/index.cfm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ The Sunshine State, from prehistory through the modern era.  CONTENT ~ Over 90,000 historic Florida images.  Can search by keyword and sort by date.  EXAMPLES ~ The pictures range from the Timucua Indians to the "Creature from the Black Lagoon." Over 5,000 are Jacksonville-related.

US IMMIGRANTS & AFRICAN AMERICANS

NAME ~ "The Immigration Experience."  ADDRESS  ~ "http://members.tripod.com/~L_Alfano/immig.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ American immigrants, mostly 1800s & early 1900s.  CONTENT ~ Lots of info and links in regard to the experiences of US immigrants.  Not just limited to Ellis Island.  EXAMPLES ~ Relive the passage of immigrant ships through hurricanes, the purchasing of food at Ellis Island, and the threat of detention and quarantine by port officials.  (What could a newcomer buy for sustenance at Ellis Island?  During the 1890s, Ellis edibles included Swedish bread, bologna sausage, boiled ham, corned beef, soup & bread, coffee, milk, soda water, ginger ale, and sarsaparilla.)

NAME ~  "Immigration & Naturalization" page at the website "Cyndi's List." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.cyndislist.com/immigrat.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Mostly US immigration, largely from the 1700s through the 1900s.  CONTENT ~ Provides links to over 350 immigration & naturalization websites.  EXAMPLES ~ Some of the sites describe & depict the immigrant experience.  Not limited to Ellis Island. Some of the sites, for instance, preserve the history of El Paso, "Ellis Island of the Southwest".

NAME ~ "Ellis Island" page at the family history website "Cyndi's List." ADDRESS  ~ "http://www.cyndislist.com/ellis.htm"  TIME & COVERAGE ~ Late 1800s through mid 1900s.  CONTENT ~ Links to over 75 Ellis Island websites.  EXAMPLES ~ Some websites describe the myths & misconceptions of Ellis Island. 

NAME ~ "A Gateway to African American History."  ADDRESS  ~ "http://charter.uchicago.edu/AAH/"  TIME & COVERAGE ~  African American history.  CONTENT ~ Numerous links provided.  EXAMPLES ~ Some websites discuss the race riots that occurred after World War I.

CLICK HERE FOR HISTORY WEBSITES, PART ONE

  THANK YOU...  

       FOR VISITING THE JACKSONVILLE STORY,

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