Sunday, March 21, 2010
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
 

Urban Parks: John Murray Forbes Park

John Murray Forbest Park is a three block secluded riverfront promenade, tucked away behind Riverside's St. Vincent's Medical Center.

Published May 6, 2009 in Neighborhoods      Digg Digg   Share this article on Facebook Share on Facebook   twitterTweet this!   Open printer friendly version of this article Print Article

John Murray Forbes was a Boston Investor, who in 1868, purchased 500 acres known as "Dell's Bluff" and platted this land as a suburban neighborhood named Riverside.

John Murray Forbes was an American railroad magnate, merchant, philanthropist and abolitionist. He was president of both the Michigan Central railroad and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in the 1850s.

Forbes was an important figure in the building of America's railroad system. From March 28, 1846 through 1855, he was president of Michigan Central Railroad, and he was a director and president of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, he helped with the growth of the American Middle West.
 
 He supplied money and weapons to New Englanders to fight slavery in Kansas and in 1859 entertained John Brown. In 1860 he was an elector for Abraham Lincoln. Staunchly pro-Union, he is given credit for founding the New England Loyal Publication Society in early 1863. A delegate to the Republican conventions of 1876, 1880 and 1884, he eventually became displeased with the Republican party and worked successfully to get Democrat Grover Cleveland elected President.

"My next best operation as it now looks was the purchase just after the war of five hundred acres of land just south of and adjoining Jacksonville, then known as Yellow Bluff, and now called Riverside."

Reminiscences of John Murray Forbes  By John Murray Forbes,  Sarah Forbes Hughes
































Images by Ennis Davis



Share this article   digg   facebook   twitter   delicious   reddit   myspace   technorati   google   newsvine  



Metro Jacksonville on Facebook

Must Read from around the web


What do you do with a beautiful old church in downtown Jacksonville? jacksonville.com - The vacant landmark at Hemming Plaza could recount the massive rebuilding of Jacksonville after the Great Fire, offer poignant snapshots of economic disasters past and present, remember the cigarettes-and-coffee smell…

St. Joe will move headquarters out of Jacksonville jacksonville.com - The St. Joe Company will move its corporate headquarters from Jacksonville to Bay County the Panhandle where the company is building a large development anchored by the Northwest Florida Beaches…

JIA passenger count drops 4.7% in February jacksonville.bizjournals.com - The number of passengers who traveled through Jacksonville International Airport fell by nearly 4.7 percent from February last year to about 389,000 last month.

Vestcor's loan modifications for 11E and The Carling clear first hurdle jaxdailyrecord.com - The Jacksonville Economic Development Commission unanimously approved loan modifications on Wednesday for two Downtown apartment buildings developed by Vestcor Inc.

Wind towers, solar panels help power Jacksonville strip mall jacksonville.com - The twin 30-foot-high towers in front of a strip mall on the south side of Atlantic Boulevard near St. Johns Bluff are hard to miss - especially when the wind…

Jacksonville declares impasse with police union jacksonville.com - After little to no response from the police union on proposed salary cuts and pension reform, Jacksonville declared impasse this morning with the Fraternal Order of Police.

Delaney to pitch $1.75 billion investment in 'new economy' jaxdailyrecord.com - University of North Florida President John Delaney said he will take his call for a $1.75 billion investment in the state's university system, specifically for creation of "knowledge" jobs, to…

Morris Publishing Group emerges from bankruptcy jacksonville.com - Morris Publishing Group announced today it has completed the necessary steps to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company submitted a plan on Jan. 19 to restructure its debts that…

Watchfulness in Jacksonville's Ortega area helps keep crime low jacksonville.com - Jacksonville's safest neighborhood has been described as a small town wrapped by the city. Maggie Wilson said that's the feeling she had growing up in Ortega, Jacksonville's least crime-ridden neighborhood,…

Jacksonville in 5... foxnews.com - Jacksonville might not be the first city you think of when planning a vacation to Florida (or even the second or third). But visitors who do take the time to…




Follow us on the web!


Facebook Twitter Youtube Delicious Flickr RSS

» 13 Comments

Beloki

May 06, 2009, 07:57:48 AM

Wouldn't it be great if you can connect this to Memorial Park and the riverwalk?
 Undecided

Keith-N-Jax

May 06, 2009, 08:22:10 AM

St. Vincents, my first job out of the military. One of or maybe the best location for a hospital. Not to mention how nice the grounds are and kept. My favorite hospital and grounds. It also doesnt hurt to be located along the riverfront. Smiley

heights unknown

May 06, 2009, 08:23:35 AM

It kinds of looks like a generic and austere riverwalk to me anyway.  I always thought of it as a part of St. Vincents and not a park.

Heights Unknown

jaxlore

May 06, 2009, 09:06:37 AM

damn i didnt even know that was there, yep i wish the riverwalk wound all the way around!

fsujax

May 06, 2009, 09:17:12 AM

I love the way the palm trees line the river. It looks great!

ChriswUfGator

May 06, 2009, 09:38:35 AM

I walk through there every day for exercise. Nice view, very scenic.

will

May 06, 2009, 09:49:04 AM

The park is nice for the neighborhood, but I bet it's also quite a comfort to the sick or friends of the sick in the hospital itself. Looking out over a big, beautiful river has got to be good therapy for a troubled mind.

Deuce

May 06, 2009, 10:18:53 AM

Didn't even know this thing existed. Ditto on connecting the Riverwalk.

Jason

May 06, 2009, 10:21:35 AM

I've been run outta there more than a couple times back in the day because of the few great rails... The guards, for some strange reason, thought that my friends and I should get hurt skating off of the hospital property! 

Looks a little different than it used to though.  Have there been any recent renovations?

reednavy

May 06, 2009, 01:16:39 PM

It was interesting during the height of TS Fay last year. The water was at least 2 feet deep across the park and the winds created a tunnel affect. Any debris that was on top of a wave crest was thrown pretty fast through that entry way. It was really cool.

stjr

May 07, 2009, 12:46:50 AM

Here are some old postcard pictures of the park!





thelakelander

May 07, 2009, 12:52:20 AM

Is that old building (last postcard) still there or has it been replaced?

stjr

May 07, 2009, 01:02:10 AM

Is that old building (last postcard) still there or has it been replaced?

Per the aerial below, it appears the structure has been "wrapped" by new outer structures and thus is no longer visible from the outside.  My recollection of visits to St. Vincents are these rooms have been modernized on the inside as well.  By the way, all three post cards look to be of the same building, just different times and perspectives.  The middle one appears to be more recent and reflects an addition to the original building shown in the first and third cards.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=st+vincents+jacksonville&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=47.885545,79.101563&ie=UTF8&ll=30.30692,-81.689068&spn=0.003209,0.004828&t=h&z=18
View forum thread
Welcome Guest. You must be logged in to comment on this story.

What are the benefits of having a MetroJacksonville.com account?
  • Share your opinion by posting comments on stories that interest you.
  • Stay up to date on all of the latest issues affecting your neighborhood.
  • Create a network of friends working towards a better Jacksonville.
» Register now
Already have an account? Login now to comment.