A history of Jacksonville,
since 1833
Postcards, papers and photographs of Jacksonville from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Jacksonville was founded on July 20, 1833, on land purchased from Creek Indian Ho-bith Tus-tun-nuck-i.e., referred to as "Ladiga" by the men who bought the land. First called Drayton, the town was renamed to honor President Andrew Jackson in 1834. There are several Civil War monuments in town, including a statue of Major John Pelham in the city cemetery and a statue of a Confederate soldier in the middle of the square. Jacksonville served as the county seat for Calhoun County until the 20th century when the county seat moved to Anniston. Jacksonville State University was founded in the city in 1883.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Jacksonville’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old view1940 Census Enumeration District …, 1880: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Jacksonville
See all 9 →
Jacksonville, decade by decade
1920s
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as A Race Meeting at (1841) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Historic places
National Register · via Wikidata
From Wikimedia Commons (5) and the National Register (1). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.