MYSTERY IMAGES:  JACKSONVILLE BAR

                            DURING THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

(Source of picture: Florida Photographic Collection)

Our great, great grandfathers may've knocked back a few in a waterhole like this one.  The photo dates from the 1800s and depicts a Jacksonville bar.  Does anyone know more details about when & where this business operated?

Notice the paddle-like fans rigged on a pole above the counter.  They may look like something that the Little Rascals would've concocted, but they probably gave some relief from Florida's sweltering heat in pre-air conditioning days.  The antique cash register on the counter would go for a fortune on eBay. 

During the nineteenth century, America's top saloons served as many as 150 different mixed drinks.  Both men & women indulged in alcohol, yet females usually didn't imbibe in public.  Regardless of Ms. Kitty on "Gunsmoke," men dominated the saloons & taverns.