Mandarin (Jacksonville) facts for kids
Mandarin is a neighborhood in the southern part of Jacksonville, Florida. It's located in Duval County, right on the eastern side of the St. Johns River. Across the river, you'll find Orange Park. Mandarin is a short drive south from downtown Jacksonville. It's bordered by Beauclerc to the north, Julington Creek to the south, and the St. Johns River to the west.
A famous author, Harriet Beecher Stowe, once called Mandarin "a tropical paradise." It's well-known for its interesting history, old oak trees covered in Spanish moss, lovely parks, boat marinas, and beautiful river views.
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Mandarin's Past
The British first settled this area in the 1760s. One large property, about 10,000 acres, was created by Francis Levett Sr. People who lived there grew different crops, and unfortunately, they used enslaved people to do this work. In 1783, the area went back to Spain after a peace treaty. More large farms were started under Spanish rule, including the famous Kingsley Plantation.
In 1830, a local resident named Calvin Reed named the area "Mandarin" because of the mandarin orange fruit. In the 1800s, Mandarin was a small farming village. Farmers shipped oranges, grapefruit, lemons, and other fruits and vegetables to Jacksonville and other places up north. They used steamships that traveled on the St. Johns River. In 1814, Zephaniah Kingsley bought land here. His wife, Anna Kingsley, who had been enslaved, helped manage the farm. She even bought her own land and enslaved people after she was freed by Kingsley in 1811.
During the American Civil War, in 1864, a Union steamship called the Maple Leaf hit a Confederate mine. The ship sank right off Mandarin Point.
After the Civil War, in the 1870s and 1880s, most people living in Mandarin were African American. Three churches were built, including the Philip R Cousin AME Church, which started in 1886. For many years, most of the land was used for growing oranges. But a big freeze in the early 1890s destroyed many of the orange trees. Instead of replanting, many farmers sold their land to people who wanted to build homes.
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Time in Mandarin
In 1867, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of the famous book Uncle Tom's Cabin, bought a small house in Mandarin. For the next seventeen winters, she would welcome visitors who arrived by steamship on the St. Johns River.
While she is best known for her book about the harshness of slavery, Stowe also wrote about Florida. She had promised her publisher in Boston another novel. But she loved northeast Florida so much that she wrote a series of stories about the land and its people instead. She published this book in 1872, calling it Palmetto Leaves. This second book didn't sell as many copies as her first novel. However, it did encourage wealthy and fashionable tourists to visit her in Florida.
In Palmetto Leaves, Stowe described life in Florida in the late 1800s. She called it "a tumble-down, wild, panicky kind of life—this general happy-go-luckiness which Florida inculcates." Her pleasant stories about picnics, sailing, and river trips, along with simple tales of events and people in this warm "winter summer" land, were the first writings that encouraged northern tourists to visit Florida. There is a small chapel in Mandarin that honors the author.
Mandarin in the 1900s
In 1968, the city of Jacksonville and most of Duval County joined together to form one big city area. Because of this, Mandarin stopped being its own separate town and became part of Jacksonville.
In 1990, as Mandarin grew quickly, a new public high school opened there. Some important people in Jacksonville wanted the new school to be named Harriet Beecher Stowe High School. But this idea wasn't widely accepted. The school was named Mandarin High School.
An historical museum, called The Mandarin Museum & Historical Society, was started in 1989. This group helped restore the old Mandarin Historic Post Office and the Walter Jones General Store. In 2000, the city opened the Walter Jones Historical Park, a 10-acre park, on the same site. The Mandarin Museum & Historical Society also brought other old buildings to the park. These include a sawmill from the early 1900s and a log cabin from the late 1800s that belonged to the Losco family. The Losco family had the biggest wine business in Northeast Florida.
In 2016, the 1898 St. Joseph's Mission Schoolhouse for African-American Children was moved to the museum property and opened to the public. The displays inside the schoolhouse show the history of African American and Gullah Geechee people in Mandarin. In 2020, Mandarin had about 9,000 residents and 3,800 households.
Mandarin's Location
Mandarin is located at 30°09′37″N 81°39′34″W / 30.1603°N 81.6594°W (30.1603, -81.6594).
Well-Known People from Mandarin
- Allen Collins from the rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd lived some of his last years in Mandarin.
- Consumer advocate Joe Cury lived and worked in Mandarin.
- Business coach and consultant Libby Gill grew up in Mandarin.
- United States Congresswoman Val Demings was born and grew up in Mandarin.
Important Places
The Lofton Cemetery, which has gravestones dating back to 1891, is located in the 32223 zip code. The Mandarin Cemetery is on land that was once part of the Seminole Wars. It also has many historically important gravestones from the 1800s.
