Hemming Park

Hemming Park is a 1.5-acre park that can be found in the center of Jacksonville and is the city’s first and oldest park. Isaiah Hart was the founder of Jacksonville, and he had first established the area as a public square in 1857. After Hart passed away in 1861 and the end of the Civil War, the Hart family deeded sold the land to the City of Jacksonville for $10 in 1866, and it became known as City Park.

In 1869, the St. James Hotel was built across the street, and the park became known as St. James Park. In 1899 Charles C. Hemming, a Civil War veteran, donated a 62-foot tall Confederate monument that is still standing today. Charles Hemming was born in Jacksonville but later moved to Colorado Springs, Colorado, becoming a wealthy banker. The memorial he donated is now the oldest in the city and was the tallest at the time it was installed. In 1901, one of the worst fires in Florida’s history destroyed many of the wooden building around Jacksonville. Hemmings monument was one of the few structures to survive the fire, but the St. James Hotel just across the street was ravaged beyond repair. Since the owner did not have the money to rebuild the hotel, architect Henry John Klutho built a new building in its place that became known as the St. James Building.

Because of the park's visibility and patronage, several civil rights demonstrations were held here in the 1960s in the effort to end racial segregation in public places. A local high school teacher by the name of Rutledge Pearson and the NAACP organized students and others to participate in sit-ins. At one point, Pearson and the NAACP met with Jacksonville’s mayor to ask for his support, but they were unfortunately rejected. Sit-ins began occurring in August of 1960, but much of the black community was denied service or kicked and spit at. This continued until what is now referred to as Axe Handle Saturday, when 200 white men armed themselves with ax handles and baseball bats. Law enforcement didn’t step in until the fighting actually started. After the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the City of Jacksonville began making progress by adding water fountains, restrooms, and dressing rooms to the park.

In 1977 the City of Jacksonville spent $648,000 renovating the park, paving over much of the natural landscape, and converted it into a plaza that became known as Hemming Plaza. In 2014, the City of Jacksonville entered into an agreement with a nonprofit organization known as the Friends of Hemming Park. The Friends of Hemming Park group is in charge of managing the park and using the park for events, programs, and adding new amenities. The plaza was once again renamed back to Hemming Park because the group wanted to reintroduce some of the natural landscape and encourage a greener and more natural atmosphere.

Hemming Park is located off of Monroe Street in the middle of downtown Jacksonville, Florida and on any given day you can find people enjoying the park.