# Gaining Access to the City's Archives
The new City of Jacksonville Historic Records Collection consists of 372 ledgers and documents, comprised of City Council, County, and City Commissioners meeting minutes, ordinances and resolutions, and indexes dating from the 1870s to the 1960s. The collection is under the jurisdiction of the Jacksonville City Council and will be maintained, preserved and digitized by the Jacksonville Public Library. Our digitization staff are continually working to add more content to this collection, so be sure to check back for updates.
In the meantime, check out these highlights from the collection:
- Photographic survey of McCoys Creek
- Construction of the Cross-Florida Barge Canal
- Ordinance granting the rights to the Jacksonville Terminal Company passenger station
In the News: Jacksonville Terminal Company
The digitization of the ordinance granting rights to Jacksonville Terminal Company is rather timely, as it was recently announced that the University of Florida Governance Committee voted to open a new, expansive graduate campus and construction of the Florida Semiconductor Institute in the area surrounding Prime F. Osborne III Convention Center. Shops, restaurants, and a commuter train station are included in this revitalization project as well.
The ordinance and related documentation in the City Council Minutes from the winter of 1917 – 1918 include specifications of the transaction between the Board of Directors for the city of Jacksonville and the Jacksonville Terminal Company. Collaboration with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company and Seaboard Air Line Railway Company are also noted.
Gaining access to these original archives opens the doors to our city’s history, just as the Jacksonville Terminal Company opened the path to travel through this Bold New City of the South.
Where will the future take us?
Union Terminal: A Brief History
Union Terminal opened in 1919. It replaced the original structure, Flagler Depot, which opened in 1897. Union Terminal was once the largest railroad station in the south and in its heyday, managed up to 140 trains carrying 20,000 passengers every day. Jacksonville Terminal Company employed over 2,000 people and was the second largest employer in Jacksonville at the time. Designed by architect Kenneth M. Murchison, it was often referred to as the Gateway to Florida and served as the city’s main passenger station from 1919 to 1974, when it ceased operations.
More Local History
Explore more digital collections like these on our Special Collections page. Special Collections is located on the Fourth Floor of the Main Library in downtown Jacksonville and is open to the public during library hours. Appointments are not required to visit Special Collections, but please call ahead at 904-255-2665 if you have specific research requirements or will require extra assistance.
Special Collections is also home to the Memory Lab, where you can convert your own photographs, home movies, cassettes, and records to digital formats you can easily store and share online.
