The Mandarin Museum & Historical Society, Jacksonville

Ancient Live Oak trees draped with Spanish moss. Tannin-colored waters of the St. Johns River lapping the trunks of cypress trees along the shore. Timucuans and English and Spanish explorers came by canoe, on foot and by horseback. Civil War soldiers, farmers, citrus growers and their families traveled by boat and by steamship. Today, children jump off the school bus, run along the riverfront boardwalk and race up the path to explore the 1875 homestead. The City of Jacksonville acquired 10 acres of Major Webb’s original homestead from the descendents of Walter Jones in 1994 for the purpose of creating the city’s first historical park. The property was developed and restored with support from the Florida Communities Trust and city and state grants. The site was dedicated as a City of Jacksonville Landmark and Landmark Site. The park opened to the public in August 2000. The park includes the farmhouse, barn, outbuildings, sawmill, nature trail along a riverfront boardwalk, picnic area and restrooms. The park and farmhouse are handicapped accessible.