Bayard, Jacksonville, Florida

Bayard is a historically rural community located in the southeastern portion of Jacksonville, in Duval County, Florida, United States. It is located along Highway US 1 east of Interstate 95 and convert|3|mi|km north of the St. Johns County line.

Community name

There is dispute over the origin of the area’s name. Most sources say Bayard was named after Thomas F. Bayard, cabinet member and friend of railroad developer Henry M. Flagler. Other sources insist it was named by General D. L. Clinch after his son, Bayard Clinch [ [http://www.rootsweb.com/~flsags/wpatales.htm WPA Folklore Tales ] ] or his wives, Eliza Bayard McIntosh and Elizabeth Bayard Houston. [ [http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/spec/pkyonge/clinch.htm University of Florida Smathers Libraries: A Guide to the General Duncan Lamont Clinch Family Papers, 1804-1904] ] Duncan Lamont Clinch was a military commander in Florida during the Seminole Wars and a man of considerable influence.

History

Bayard was first platted in 1884 and promoted as a conveniently located community halfwaybetween Jacksonville and St. Augustine; close to navigable waterways andthe railroad. Each block was platted with eight 125’ x 170’ lots; however, a large number of “paper” streets and blocks were platted, but never built. [http://www.coj.net/NR/rdonlyres/ekih6l7qscbmbolt2rjnbumnphc7ontakoh5vghnd3d6go56lz3jpnlacqjszedzca5wu56hqnn6pc7ojropnbtr6jb/Bayard+Section+1+JB.pdf] The community became a stage stop and depot town as a result of the presence of sawmills and turpentine distilleries along the Florida East Coast Railroad. A three-story frame building was erected in 1899 by the widow of a Union soldier who died in a sawmill accident. Some sources called it the Bayard Inn, but the structure became the center of the community with a general store on the ground floor and the Wing Hotel occupying the second and third floors.

The Dixie Highway holds the distinction as the first paved highway down Florida’s Atlantic Coast. The nine-foot-wide brick road was completed in 1918 and opened the state to an unstoppable torrent of tourist traffic and development. Sections of the old brick road can be identified in the town of Hastings. [ [http://www.drivetheost.com/florida.html Florida ] ] The Wing Hotel in Bayard boomed in the 1920s, with automobile tourists using it as a rest stop midway between Jacksonville and St. Augustine. The construction of U.S. 1 in the early 1930’s required the Bayard Inn to be moved back to make room for a wider road. When the highway was completed in 1934, traffic surged and Bayard became a bustling stopping point for travelers. Motor courts, hotels, restaurants and gift shops flourished. Soon, there were separate school buildings for white and black students and two churches. Eartha M. M. White, noted humanitarian, philanthropist, and businesswoman was a teacher for many years in Bayard. The black school building is still part of the Bayard community.

The store located in the Bayard Inn closed in 1947, and over the years, a brothel and post office occupied the first floor, with a residence on the second floor. The building was closed for many years before opening as an antique store in the 1990s, but that, too closed after a number of years. The 107 year-old building was finally demolished in 2005.With the completion of the Interstate 95 highway in 1967, [ [http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-095.html Interstate Guide.com-I95 History] ] traffic shifted from U.S. 1 and the commercial buildings within Bayard largely disappeared, though there were still a few small businesses and long-time residents who called Bayard home.

Today

A number of large-scale developments and road improvements in the area have altered the character of Bayard. Flagler Center, a convert|1022|acre|km2|sing=on commercial development between US1 and I-95, was started in the mid-1990’s, and re-development along US 1 surged after the year 2000. The build-out of nearby developments such as Bartram Park and Nocatee and the proposed State Road 9B will pose a challenge to balance the rural, small-town heritage of Bayard with new development. [ [http://www.geocities.com/xpatriot_1999/One/south.html XPatriot US1] ]

References

External links

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