Jacksonville Tutors

About Jacksonville

Located at the mouth of the St. John’s River where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, Jacksonville has the largest population of any city in Florida and is the twelfth most populous city in the United States. With the discovery of pottery shards on North Hammock Island, scientists believe that Native Americans inhabited northeast Florida 4,500 years ago. When the first Europeans got to the area in the 16th century they found a thriving native culture centered around the Timucua village of Ossachite in what is now downtown Jacksonville. The Timucua chose the site because of its protection from ocean storms, abundance of food and fresh water and convenient trails north and south. For similar reasons, the British established a crossing at that site on the St. John’s River which came to be known as Cowford. Not long after the Revolutionary War the Spanish gave up Florida to the United States and in 1822, plantation owner Isaiah Hart laid out a town which he named Jacksonville after future president Andrew Jackson, although Jackson never set foot in the place.

Today, the Hart Bridge is not far from the original cow ford where early settlers forded the river with their cattle. During the Civil War, Jacksonville came under Union blockade even though many of its citizens sided with the North. By the end of the war the city’s population had grown significantly with displaced farmers and freed slaves. In 1901, however, most of Jacksonville burned to the ground when a fire devastated 146 city blocks and more than 2,000 buildings. It didn’t take long to rebuild with the city becoming the banking and insurance hub for northern Florida in the years before World War II. For a time in the early 1900’s more than 30 silent movie studios made their headquarters in Jacksonville before the industry moved to Hollywood. Jacksonville is a sprawling city covering over 840 square miles and in recent years has become one of the most important military areas in the country with four bases including Naval Station Mayport.

It’s likely that a Jacksonville tutor will keep you prepared for your toughest academic courses so you can take time away from the books and enjoy all the exciting things to do in the Jacksonville metropolitan area. The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve is a 46,000-acre wetlands and wilderness just northeast of downtown Jacksonville along Clapboard Creek. Named for the Native Americans who inhabited the area when the Spanish established St. Augustine, the preserve includes a natural wildlife habitat as well as the Fort Caroline National Memorial and Kingsley Plantation, the oldest plantation in the state. Founded by the French in the 1500’s Fort Caroline was a short-lived settlement which ultimately collapsed under the weight of hunger, insurgent Native Americans and outright mutiny by the settlers themselves. Today, a replica of the fort gives visitors a look at life in early colonial America.

Originally the Children’s Museum and then the Jacksonville Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Museum of Science and History on the popular Southbank Riverwalk is the most visited museum in the city. The museum includes core, signature, and traveling exhibits. The Health in Motion core exhibit focuses on health, nutrition and behavior. The Florida’s Naturalist Center provides interactive experiences with a wide range of animals such as owls and possums. A recent museum exhibit takes visitors back to Ancient Rome for an examination of the engineering innovations pioneered by the Romans.