The Jacksonville Historical Society

Jacksonville Historical Society Collection Highlights:

Broadbent Collection: A series of images photographed and donated by Robert Broadbent many relating to a declining downtown Jacksonville in the 1970’s, including store windows and street scenes.

Carrick Collection: The blueprints, working plans, scrapbooks and images of the bridges of Carrick in and around Jacksonville, Florida in 20th century Jacksonville.

Consolidated City of Jacksonville Records: The records of the committees and individuals involved in activities leading up to the consolidation of the City of Jacksonville (not inventoried).

Cohen Brothers Collection: More than 200 images of early 20th and mid-20th century Jacksonville and its most noted department store; includes, interior and exterior store, employee activities, fashion shows, store’s parade and more.

Elsner Collection: Professional photographer William Elsner’s photos of 1930’s Jacksonville; active street scenes, presidential motorcades, city skylines and more (not inventoried by collection, but by subject matter).

Great Fire Photographs: A series of photos (some from the Leah Mary Cox Collection listed below) of the Jacksonville’s Fire, including more than 300 images of people, places, and events related to the fire or the aftermath of the fire.

Leah Mary Cox Collection: Photo collection of 4,075 glass plates with images relating to late 19th century and early 20th century Jacksonville, including street scenes, pre and post Great Fire photos, buildings, homes, portraits and recreational images, and more.

Publication Collection: Books and Journals published by the Jacksonville Historical Society, including three major coffee table books; The Great Fire of 1901, The Jacksonville Family Album, and The Architecture of Henry John Klutho. Two other books; Jacksonville’s Aviation History and First Coast Steamboat Days; and a series of journals with specific articles relating to city history, published between 1949 and 1996.

Spanish-American War Collection: Images specific to the war and Jacksonville, Florida including encampments, Gen. Fitzhugh Lee, soldiers’ activities, parades and more.

Studio Collection: A collection of 10,000 plus images, mostly negatives and some hard copy and some glass plates in the process of electronic cataloguing, includes 20th century Jacksonville with portraits, everyday scenes, car wrecks, and more.

Postcard Collection: Hundreds of postcards of area scenes in and around Jacksonville including parks, hotels, restaurants, public buildings and much more. The bulk of the collection represents the early half of the 20th century.