Hemming Park

The area was established as a public square in 1857 by Isaiah Hart, founder of Jacksonville. After Hart's death in 1861 and the end of the Civil War, the Hart family deeded the land to the city for $10. It was first known as “City Park”, then “St. James Park” after the grand St. James Hotel was constructed across the street in 1869. The following year, another major hotel was built across from the park. The area was renamed Hemming Park in 1899 in honor of Civil War veteran Charles C. Hemming, who placed a 62-foot tall Confederate monument in the park in 1898. Hemming was born in Jacksonville and made his fortune in Colorado Banking. The memorial is the oldest in the city and was the tallest at the time. During years past, the park contained bandstands, fountains, comfort stations and buildings for the Tourist & Convention Bureau. Presidents, political candidates and visiting dignitaries have greeted citizens at this central site. During the 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon both gave speeches at Hemming Park a few hours apart on October 18. President Lyndon Johnson also delivered a speech in Hemming Park on October 26, 1964.

Alma Prevatt 1908 Elsie Prevatt 1910 John McCulloch 1979

Seville, Florida Seville, Florida Prestwick, Scotland

W. L Kitts 1906 Anna P Rolland 1906 Celinda Jaques 1906 Blanche Stephens 1907 Ada Boggeshall 1907 Arlington, New Jersey Massachusetts Providence, Rhode Island Water Valley , Mississippi Summit , New Jersey

Ada Willis 1908 1908 Annie Genovar 1908 Emily Whittington 1908 Marguerite Ball 1909

Crystal River, Florida New York, New York St. Augustine, Florida Atlanta, Georgia Medfield, Massachusetts

Agnes Palmer 1909 Evelyn Daniel 1909 Fino Eliza Emery Rita Jones 1911 Louis H Giele 1911

Newton, Pennsylvania Saluda, North Carolina Mexico, New York Forest Glen, Indiana Jersey City, New Jersey

Laura Curling 1912 Ollie Gillespie 1912 Fred Hadelmeyer 1912 Carrie Ashenbaugh 1913 W. Osner 1915

Portsmouth, Virginia Chrissville, Alabama Bunnell, Florida New Brighton, Pennsylvania Grand Haven, Michigan

H.B. Baldwin 1916 Anna Coombs 1919 Mary Coates 1920 Alan Millett 1926 1926

Salem , Massachusetts Maine Wisconsin Devonport, England

Pauline Chapman 1934 Matilda Strayline 1937 Waldo Hodgman 1937 Ellen Doane 1939 Richard Lemont 1942

East Hartford, Connecticut Wyoming, New York Methuen, Massachusetts Winthrop, Massachusetts Cedar Rapids, Idaho

1944 Olive Thompson 1945 Melvin White 1953 Minnie Brazor 1955 J.W. Robbins

Haverhill, Massachusetts New Philadelphia, Ohio Battleboro, Vermont W. Louverville, Massachusetts