Five things you didn't know about Bayard

Located 18 miles southeast of downtown Jacksonville, Bayard is a historic community with a rich cultural story. Here are five fascinating historical facts about Bayard that you might not know.

1. Bayard was established in 1884

Bayard was platted in 1884 along the new Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railway (JStA&HR;). The JStA&HR; was a narrow gauge railroad that began service in 1883 between South Jacksonville and St. Augustine.

Located halfway between the cities and just south of Big Davis Creek, Bayard was one of several small towns established along the railroad that were economically supported by turpentine camps and sawmills in the vicinity.

A year later, Henry Morrison Flagler acquired the railroad and converted the track to standard gauge. In 1895, Flagler officially changed his railroad’s name to the Florida East Coast Railway Company (FEC). After the 1934 completion of U.S. Highway 1, Bayard evolved to become a popular rest stop for tourists traveling through the area.

2. Bayard: A name shrouded in dispute

The origin of Bayard’s name has been disputed throughout history. Some claim the community was named after Thomas Francis Bayard (1828-1898). A friend of railroad tycoon Henry M. Flagler, Bayard was from Wilmington, Delaware and served three terms as a United States Senator. In 1885, he was appointed Secretary of State by President Grover Cleveland.

Others claim the community is named for Captain Nicholas Bayard Clinch (1832-1888). Nicholas Bayard Clinch was the son of General Duncan Lamont Clinch (1787-1849). General Clinch served during the War of 1812 and the First and Second Seminole Wars. He later represented Georgia in the United States House of Representatives. Nicholas Bayard Clinch was a Confederate army veteran that passed in Green Cove Springs in 1888.

3. Bayard’s Gullah Geechee connection

Dating back to the 1870s, the Julington Creek Baptist Church at 12740 Snyder Street in Bayard was established by Gullah Geechee settlers from Edisto Island, South Carolina that migrated to Duval County area after the Civil War. They settled near Lorett and eventually established a small farming community named Edisto. During the second half of the 20th century, suburban sprawl eventually engulfed and erased this once rural settlement from existence. However, this Baptist congregation named after the creek that flowed nearby, lives on.

4. A. place for 1920s land boom fraud

In early August 1925, J.F. Brandeis made a splash in Jacksonville by announcing plans to build a radio manufacturing plant. After several days of wining and dining, he raised the stakes, claiming he had purchased a 5,000-acre tract near Bayard. Not only would he bring a factory, he declared, but he would also build an entire town dubbed Los Gatos.

By September, Brandeis claimed that six manufacturing firms from New York City were relocating to Los Gatos. He boldly predicted the new industrial town would swell to 25,000 residents within five years. Nicknamed “The Chicago of Florida,” Los Gatos was heavily marketed through full-page newspaper ads, concerts, and a downtown sales office run by the Los Gatos Realty Company.

Despite the fact that no construction had begun, sales of home sites launched anyway. But the hype burned out almost as quickly as it had caught fire. By December 1925, all advertising had vanished, and Brandeis had disappeared from Jacksonville.

Two years later, federal agents arrested Brandeis in California for mail fraud and returned him to Jacksonville to stand trial. He pleaded guilty, was fined, and served a two-year sentence in the Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.

5. Bayard’s Minorcan connection

Genovar Park is the largest publicly owned recreational property in Bayard. Located at 12810 Genovar Street, the five-acre park bears a name that dates back to 18th-century Florida. The land was once owned by the Genovar family and was donated to the City of Jacksonville by Willard Genovar following the death of his mother, Lois Genovar, in 1954. As part of the donation, Willard included stipulations that the land be used as a public park and that it carry the Genovar family name.

The Genovar family originated from Palma, a resort city and capital of the Spanish island of Mallorca (Majorca) in the western Mediterranean. They were among a group of people recruited by Dr. Andrew Turnbull in the 1760s to help establish a colony in New Smyrna, Florida. These settlers, often referred to as Minorcans, entered into indentured servitude with the promise of land and freedom after a set number of years. When the colony failed to thrive, many of them traveled on foot to St. Augustine and petitioned the British governor of East Florida, Patrick Tonyn, to release them from their contracts. Tonyn not only granted their release but also provided them with land just north of St. Augustine’s core.

Editorial by Ennis Davis, AICP. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com