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Photo courtesy of Jacksonville Port Authority.
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The wide mouth of the St. Johns River could have been a gateway to the interior of Florida, but a shallow channel at the river's entrance prevented the development of the St. Johns as a significant port. Throughout the 16th, 17th, and mid-18th centuries, the St. Johns River was a route for inland excursions to capture slaves and to attack settlements and forts. During the American Revolution the first commercial shipment of naval stores was exported rom the St. Johns, which remained under British control. The area and river remained at the heart of military operations between nations, including France, Spain, Britain, and the United States and was not known as a significant port. In 1822 Jacksonville was named for General Andrew Jackson, hero of the First Seminole War. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging finally opened the St. Johns to seagoing traffic in 1839 and the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) provided an immediate boost to the young port. Between 1845 and 1857, a regular steamship route ran between Savannah and Jacksonville. The Civil War interrupted plans to improve the river's channel, which shifted constantly and prevented full-blown commercial development of the port. Lumber was the first commodity to revive the port after the war's end, and by the 1870s winter tourism and citrus exporting were the second and third most important economic activities. Jetties built at the end of the 19th century stabilized the river's entrance and led to the development of Jacksonville as a seaport 25 miles from the Atlantic coast. Improvements to withstand erosion along the St. Johns River have continued through the 20th century to keep Jacksonville a viable ocean-going port. Today, the Navy, gypsum, oil depots, and diversified commercial traffic activities are its chief economic engines.
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