European explorers first arrived in 1562, when French Huguenot explorer Jean Ribault charted the St. Johns River. René Goulaine de Laudonnière established the first European settlement at Fort Caroline two years later.
The first permanent European settlement was founded as Cowford in 1791. Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, and the following year Cowford acquired the name Jacksonville, after the first military governor of the Florida Territory and eventual seventh President of the United States, Andrew Jackson. The Florida Legislative Council approved a charter for a town government on February 9, 1832.
During the American Civil War, Jacksonville was a key supply point for hogs and cattle leaving Florida and aiding the Confederate cause. The city was blockaded by the Union, changing hands several times. Though no battles were fought in Jacksonville, the city was left in a considerable state of disarray after the war.
During Reconstruction and the Gilded Age, Jacksonville and nearby St. Augustine became popular winter resorts for the rich and famous. Visitors arrived by steamboat and later by railroad. The city's tourism, however, was dealt major blows in the late 1800s by yellow fever outbreaks and the extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad to south Florida.
On May 2, 1901, downtown Jacksonville was ravaged by a fire that was started at a fiber factory. Known as the "Great Fire of 1901", it was one of the worst disasters in Florida history, destroying the business district and rendering 10,000 residents homeless in the course of eight hours. Famed New York architect Henry John Klutho was a primary figure in the reconstruction of the city. More than 13,000 buildings were constructed between 1901 and 1912.
Motion picture scene at Gaumont Studios, 1910.In the 1910s, New York-based moviemakers were attracted to Jacksonville's warm climate, exotic locations, excellent rail access, and cheap labor. Over the course of the decade, more than 30 silent film studios were established, earning Jacksonville the title "Winter Film Capital of the World". The city's conservative political climate and the emergence of Hollywood as a major film production center quickly ended the city's film industry. Several converted movie studio sites remain in Arlington.
During this time, Jacksonville also became a banking and insurance center, with companies such as Barnett National, Atlantic National, Florida National, Prudential, Gulf Life, Afro-American Insurance, Independent Life and American Heritage Life thriving in the business district. The U.S. Navy also became a major employer and economic force during the 1940s, with the installation of three major naval bases in the city. Jacksonville, like most large cities in the United States, suffered from negative effects of rapid urban sprawl after World War II. Voters elected to consolidate the city and county governments in 1968, making Jacksonville the largest city in land area in the contiguous United States.
Jacksonville has long struggled with its violent crime rate; it has been Florida's murder capital for 12 of the last 17 years.[1] Murders peaked at 174 in 1991

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