Print ArticleWith election day finally arriving, here's a list of Florida's governors that were either born or lived in Jacksonville, in chronological order.
7. John W. Martin 
Image courtesy of the State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/157136
In Office: 1925-1929
The 24th Governor of Florida, Martin served as the Mayor of Jacksonville from 1917-1923. The Florida land boom and bust occurred during his tenure. He also advocated for state funded public schools as governor. Martin is buried in Evergreen Cemetery. Martin County, FL is named for him.
8. Fuller Warren
In Office: 1949-1953
After graduating from the University of Florida, Warren moved to Jacksonville to practice law. During his term as the 30th Governor of Florida, Warren set the foundation for the state's turnpike system. A former Klansmen, after being elected, he spoke out against the Ku Klux Klan and signed an anti-Klan law in 1951. However, Warren had a darker side.
During the hearings of the United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce, it was bought to light that Warren's 1948 campaign had been funded by organized crime. A transplanted Chicagoan with ties to Al Capone named William Johnston made illegal contributions to Warren's campaign. A Jacksonville resident, Johnston owned Jacksonville's dog tracks and Chicagoland's Sportsman's Park. After Warren became the Governor, the State immediately started raiding the South Florida gambling syndicates, which happened to be rivals Johnston. Warren moved to Miami after his term ended, running for governor again in 1956 on the promise to maintain segregation in Florida. Luckily he lost. Jacksonville's Fuller Warren Bridge is named for him.
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