| Fernandina Beach, Florida | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
| Images from top, left to right: Beach, Nassau County Courthouse (Florida), Fort Clinch, Amelia Island Light, shrimp statue (representing the annual Shrimp Festival), United States Post Office, Custom House, and Courthouse (Fernandina, Florida, 1912), Fort Clinch Pier, Old School House | |||
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| Nickname(s): Isle of 8 Flags | |||
| Location in Nassau County and the state of Florida | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Florida | ||
| County | Nassau | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | Susan Steger | ||
| Area | |||
| • Total | 10.7 sq mi (27.8 km2) | ||
| • Land | 10.7 sq mi (27.8 km2) | ||
| • Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 25 ft (7.6 m) | ||
| Population (2010) | |||
| • Total | 11,487 | ||
| • Density | 1,073.6/sq mi (2,780.6/km2) | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP codes | 32034-32035 | ||
| Area code(s) | 904 | ||
| FIPS code | 12-22175[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0294308[2] | ||
| Website | www.fbfl.us. | ||
Fernandina Beach is a city in Nassau County in the state of Florida in the United States of America and on Amelia Island. It is a part of Greater Jacksonville and is among Florida's northernmost cities. The area was first inhabited by the Timucuan Indian tribe. Known as the "Isle of 8 Flags", it has had the following flags flown over it since 1562: France, Spain, Great Britain, Spain (again), the Patriots of Amelia Island, the Green Cross of Florida, Mexico, the Confederate States of America, and the United States. It is the only municipality in the United States that has flown eight different national flags.[3]
According to the 2010 census, the city population was 11,487. It is the county seat of Nassau County.[4]
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Fernandina Beach is located at ,[5] approximately 25 miles northeast of downtown Jacksonville, Florida.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.7 square miles (41 km2), all land. It is the northernmost city on the eastern coast of Florida.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 10,549 people, 4,525 households, and 2,941 families residing in the city. The population density was 984.4 people per square mile (379.9/km2). There were 5,588 housing units at an average density of 521.5 per square mile (201.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 81.54% White, 16.19% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.59% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.33% of the population.
There were 4,525 households out of which 23.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.4% were married couples living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.0% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.78.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.2% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 28.8% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $40,893, and the median income for a family was $54,806. Males had a median income of $36,179 versus $26,356 for females. The per capita income for the city was $24,517. About 6.4% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.1% of those under age 18 and 8.7% of those age 65 or over.
The schools of Fernandina Beach are part of the Nassau County School district. They include:
Note: Atlantic Elementary (2nd and 3rd grades) was closed at the end of the 2008 school year. After the closing, 2nd grade was moved to Southside and 3rd grade to Emma Love.
Circa 1000, native American bands associated with the Timucuan mound-building culture settled on the island, which they called Napoyca. They remained on Napoyca until the early 18th century.
William Bartram visited Amelia Island in 1776 and noted the presence of several very large tumuli, or mounds, called "Ogeechee mounts" by the English.[6]
The northern end of Amelia Island is the location of the original town of Fernandina historic site, where Fort San Carlos stood by the Amelia River.
French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault became the first (recorded) European visitor to Napoyca in 1562, which he named Isle de Mai.
In 1565, Spanish forces led by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés drove the French from northeastern Florida, killing Ribault and approximately 350 other French colonists.
In 1573, Spanish Franciscans established the Santa Maria mission on the island, which was named Isla de Santa Maria. The mission was abandoned in 1680 after the inhabitants refused a Spanish order to relocate. British raids forced the relocation of the Santa Catalina de Guale mission on Georgia's St. Catherines Island, to the abandoned Santa Maria mission on the island in 1685. In 1702, this mission was again abandoned when South Carolina's colonial governor, James Moore, led a joint British-Indian invasion of Florida.
Georgia's founder and colonial governor, James Oglethorpe, renamed the island "Amelia Island" in honor of Princess Amelia (1710–1786), King George II's daughter, although the island was still a Spanish possession. After establishing a small settlement on the northwestern edge of the island, Oglethorpe negotiated with Spanish colonial officials for a transfer of the island to British sovereignty. Colonial officials agreed to the transfer, but the King of Spain nullified the agreement.
The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ratified Britain's victory in the Seven Years' War, ceding Florida to Britain in exchange for Havana and nullifying all Spanish land grants in Florida. The Proclamation of 1763 established the St. Mary's River as East Florida's northeastern boundary.
In 1783, the Second Treaty of Paris ended the Revolutionary War and returned Florida to Spain. British inhabitants of Florida had to leave the province within 18 months unless they swore allegiance to Spain. In 1811, surveyor George J. F. Clarke platted the town of Fernandina, named in honor of Spain's King Ferdinand VII.
With the approval of President James Madison and Georgia Governor George Mathews in 1812-1813, insurgents known as the "Patriots of Amelia Island" seized the island. After raising a Patriot flag, they replaced it with the United States flag. American gunboats under the command of Commodore Hugh Campbell maintained control of the island. On 15 May 1812, the British brig Sappho fired on Gunboat no. 168, which had fired on the loyalist merchant vessel Fernando to prevent her leaving. Outgunned, the American gunboat withdrew, which enabled several vessels to escape from the port.
Spanish pressure forced the American evacuation in 1813. Spanish forces erected Fort San Carlos on the island in 1816.
Led by Gregor MacGregor in 1817, a colorful Scottish-born South American freedom fighter, 55 musketeers seized Fort San Carlos, claiming the island on behalf of "the brethren of Mexico, Buenos Ayres, New Grenada and Venezuela".[7] Mac Gregor claimed to be Brigadier General of the armies of the United Provinces of New Grenada and Venezuela (where he had successfully fought and led troops), and General-in-Chief of the armies for the two Floridas, commissioned by the Supreme Director of Mexico, South America.[7]
Spanish soldiers forced MacGregor's withdrawal, but their attempt to regain complete control was foiled by American irregulars organized by Ruggles Hubbard and former Pennsylvania congressman Jared Irwin. Hubbard and Irwin later joined forces with the French-born pirate Luis Aury, who laid claim to the island on behalf of the Republic of Mexico. U.S. Navy forces drove Aury from the island, and President James Monroe vowed to hold Amelia Island "in trust for Spain."
On January 8, 1861, two days before Florida's secession, Confederate sympathizers (the Third Regiment of Florida Volunteers) took control of Fort Clinch, already abandoned by Federal workers who had been constructing the fort. General Robert E. Lee visited Fort Clinch in November 1861 and again in January 1862, during a survey of coastal fortifications.
Union forces, consisting of 28 gunboats commanded by Commodore Samuel Dupont, restored Federal control of the island on March 3, 1862 and raised the American Flag. In January 1863, the first all-black regiment of former slaves recruited to fight for the Union was read Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation at Fernandina. Three weeks later they set sail up St. Mary's River to engage Confederate forces.
Amelia Island was chosen as the mystical land for the 1988 film The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking. The site that stood in for Villa Villekulla, Pippi’s home, is now Posada San Carlos, a pink-painted bed and breakfast inn.
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