Maurice J. Robinson - Ponte Vedra Beach: A History

Published by The History Press

Charleston, SC 29403

www.historypress.net

Copyright 2008 by Maurice Robinson

All rights reserved

Cover image: Shoreline Dunes. Courtesy of Ellen Diamond and Fairfax Publishing, www.ellendiamond.com.

First published 2008

Second printing 2008

e-book edition 2011

ISBN 978.1.61423.094.6

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Robinson, Maurice (Maurice J.)

Ponte Vedra Beach : a history / Maurice Robinson.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

print edition ISBN 978-1-59629-441-7

1. Ponte Vedra Beach (Fla.)--History. 2. Ponte Vedra Beach (Fla.)--Social life and customs. 3. Ponte Vedra Beach (Fla.)--Economic conditions. 4. Ponte Vedra Beach (Fla.)--Biography. 5. Ponte Vedra Beach Region (Fla.)--History, Local. I. Title.

F319.P68R63 2008

975.918--dc22

2008015020

Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

If I should go to heaven, which I much doubt, when St. Peter lets me walk through the Pearly Gates, Im sure that I will look around and say, St Peter, Im disappointed. I used to live in Ponte Vedra.

Harry Johnston

I began studying the history of Ponte Vedra back in 1995 when I moved to Ponte Vedra from Virginia. My youngest daughter was in the St. Johns public school system and chose to write a paper on Ponte Vedra. The printed information that we could find was very sketchy to say the least. Eventually, we did find newspaper and magazine articles, but found nothing definitive.

I began to prepare myself to undertake the project of researching and writing a more comprehensive history of the Ponte Vedra/Palm Valley area. With the help of Dr. Shafer at the University of North Florida, and the cooperation of organizations, colleges, historical societies and friends, I have organized and written this book and compiled illustrations inclusive of the most significant events in the history of the Ponte Vedra area.

Though Ponte Vedra may seem insignificant when compared to our historic First Coast neighbors, St. Augustine and Jacksonville, I think we have an important and equally interesting history to relay here in this small but unique area of St. Johns County, Florida.

Please enjoy this chronicle of the many events that have occurred in our small town, unique to both Florida and the United States.

First of all, I would mainly like to thank the staff at The History Press, especially Magan Lyons, senior commissioning editor/publisher, and Jaime Muehl, project editor.

This book would never have been completed without the assistance of Dr. Daniel L. Shafer, history professor at the University of North Florida (UNF). Dr. Shafers encouragement and his thoughtfulness sent me back to college to learn how to interpret history more professionally.

Many have helped me gather and present the historical information that is necessary to express and accurately recapture most of the historical events in the Ponte Vedra Beach area.

Thanks go to Taryn Rodriguez-Boette, archivist, Beaches Area Historical Society (BAHS); Charles A. Tinsley, St. Augustine Historical Society; Dwight Wilson, director, BAHS; Dr. Dale Clifford, chair of the History Department at the University of North Florida; Jerome Fletcher, Fletcher Land Corporation; Sid and Jo Mickler, Palm Valley; Phil and Julianna Howe, Jacksonville Beach; University of Florida Archives; Sharon Laird, archivist, Jacksonville Historical Society Archives; Robin Moore, archaeologist, St. Johns County; Marsha A. Chance and Greg C. Smith, senior archaeologists, Environmental Services, Inc.; James R. Jimmy Stockton Jr., Ponte Vedra; Robert Bob Kroner, son of Elaine Koehl, Ponte Vedra; Fred Cosby, certified hotel administrator, Ponte Vedra Inn and Club; Kirt Kaunath, Ponte Vedra; Steve Sciotto, Palm Valley; Inna Heilman, South Ponte Vedra; Don Staley, Neptune Beach; Ponte Vedra Public Library; St. Augustine Public Library; University of North Florida Archives; Susan R. Parker, PhD, State of Florida; Christine L. Newman, archaeologist II, State of Florida; Jennifer Lynch, researcher, U.S. Post Office, Washington, D.C.; Bruce A. Chappell, archivist, University of Florida, Smathers Library, just to name a few.

The counties of Baker, Clay, Duval, Flagler, Nassau and St. Johns are known historically as the First Coast of the New World to be explored by the Spanish. Of these, Ponte Vedra Beach can truly boast of being first on the First Coast because it is believed that Ponce de Len landed on its shores at Guana State Park in 1513.

The unincorporated area of northeast St. Johns County, Florida, includes Ponte Vedra Beach, Ponte Vedra, South Ponte Vedra Beach and Palm Valley and encompasses fifty-one square miles along the Atlantic Ocean from below J. Turner Butler Boulevard, south to and including Guana River State Park and South Ponte Vedra Beach and farther south to Vilano Beach. The twenty-eight miles of beaches are on the barrier island that extends from Mayport to the north and St. Augustine (Vilano Beach) to the south.

The welcome sign at Ponte Vedra Beach in the most northern portion of St. Johns County on A1A. The sign recalls the communitys establishment in 1928. M. Robinson photograph, 2004.

Little is known of the Paleolithic Period along the coast and in the east and central Lake District cultural area, which includes St. Johns County. Theories about the paleo-mans existence are based primarily upon site size and the uniformity of the known stone tool kit of the period. It is thought that these early populations lived a nomadic life based on hunting and gathering, and it appears that they clustered near certain waterways, springs and cenotes (water-filled limestone sinkholes) throughout the peninsula. This information is based upon research conducted and published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when surveying the Palm Valley Bridge vicinity.

About fourteen thousand years ago, people first entered the Florida peninsula. Known as Paleo-Indians, these original Floridians survived by hunting mastodons, camels, mammoths, bison and horses. At the time, much of the worlds water was frozen in glaciers, sea level was much lower than it is today and Florida was a large, dry, grassy prairie. The North Florida coastline extended into the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico at double its present size.