ECONOMIC SUMMARY

The port of Jacksonville, situated on the banks of the St. Johns River 27 miles from the open sea, had its origin in a small settlement founded by Lewis Z. Hogans in 1816. In 1822 the city was laid out and given the name of Jacksonville in honor of Andrew Jackson, the first Territorial Governor of Florida. Jacksonville was incorporated as a city in 1833 but between then and 1842 the city was dormant as the Seminole Wars halted its development. At the conclusion of this war development of the city began and its progress has been rapid. Census Bureau statistics show the extent of this growth in a most convincing manner. In 1850 there were only 1,045 people registered as inhabitants of Jacksonville. Twenty years later the population had increased to 6,912, and by 1900 there were 28,429 inhabitants. Since 1900, when Jacksonville was first rated as an ocean port, the city's population has increased by more than 100,000 a total of 129,549 having been recorded in the Census of 1930.

The early settlers of the region in and around Jacksonville were dependent to a large extent upon the small coastwise trading vessels to bring them supplies from the North Atlantic ports and to take their products to northern markets. After the construction of larger vessels became general, Jacksonville was slow in developing its commerce since it was handicapped by shoals and a shifting bar at the mouth of the river which excluded vessels with drafts of more than 8 feet.

The first project for the improvement of the St. Johns River was adopted in 1880 and provided only for jetties and dredging of the bar between them. In 1896, a second project was adopted which provided for a 24-foot channel from the ocean to Jacksonville. This latter improvement allowed most of the vessels in the ocean-going trade at that time to reach the port without difficulty. The present project creating a 30-foot channel from the ocean to Jacksonville was adopted in 1910. Subsequent river and harbor acts provided for channel improvements which allow the movement of large oceangoing vessels to the port. As a result of these channel and harbor improvements the port is now in a position to handle its share of the coastwise and foreign trade of the southeastern sector of the United States.

The port of Jacksonville is the southern-most port along the Atlantic coast capable of serving more than a geographically re

stricted territory. Its location in the southeastern corner of the United States places it in a position to serve a large and evergrowing industrial and agricultural region, which includes not only the States of Florida, Georgia, and Alabama but also Mississippi, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Kentucky, and points in the central States of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Jacksonville does not, however, have undisputed dominion in this region for there are other important ports that serve or have access to the same region. On the Atlantic coast there are the ports of Brunswick, Savannah, Charleston, Wilmington, and Norfolk, while on the Gulf coast there are the ports of Tampa, Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans which compete with Jacksonville for trade originating in or destined to this territory. While Jacksonville has been able to handle some of the import and export trade of this region, the presence of these other ports naturally tends to limit its participation and to restrict the territory served principally by the port.

Jacksonville's principal trade territory is estimated as including the greater part of north Florida, the region served by the St. Johns River and those points along the east coast of Florida as far south as Brevard County, and southwestern Alabama and southern Georgia. Competing ports for trade in this territory are Tampa, Pensacola, Brunswick, and Savannah. Miami to the southward serves only the east coast of Florida as far north as Brevard County and the southern tip of Florida, to which territory Jacksonville is a frequent distributor. To this region which contains a population of 225,000 people within a 50-mile radius of the port and 1,220,000 people within a 150-mile radius and considerably over 5 million people within 300 miles, the port of Jacksonville acts as an entrepot for the distribution of large quantities of merchandise from the manufacturing centers of the north. A large quantity of these supplies and raw materials moved into the port from foreign and domestic points by water and were either stored for future distribution at the port's facilities or distributed immediately to interior consumers. An indication as to the extent of this type of port business may be gained from the fact that the Census figures of 1933 show a total of 268 wholesale business concerns operating in Jacksonville or 13 percent of the total number in Florida, and that total net sales for these same companies in 1933 amounted to $74,749,000 or 26.7 percent of the total wholesale sales in the State.

Jacksonville is also an important distributing center for petroleum and petroleum products, fertilizer and fertilizer materials, paper and paper products, creosote, green and roasted coffee, canned beef, tallow, sugar, dyeing and tanning materials, and automobiles. Practically all of these commodities were received at the port by water from foreign and domestic points.

While Jacksonville has achieved distinction as an important distributing center for commodities moving to the interior, it is also recognized as an inportant point for the assembling of the products of the area described for shipment to foreign and domestic points by water. The port of Jacksonville has attained first rank as a market for naval stores, due principally to the fact that northern Florida and southern Georgia possess the nation's largest areas producing these commodities. In close connection with the production of naval stores, the shipment of logs and lumber from the same area naturally moves through Jacksonville, which is the nearest adequate port. Fruits and vegetables which are produced in the central and northern portion of the Florida peninsula also seek this port for shipment to northern markets. Most of the commodities entering into the outbound trade of the port originated in that territory which is naturally a tributary to the port. Some originated within the port itself, others within a 150-mile radius, while some special movements were received for shipment through this port from points outside of this territory.

Jacksonville is located in a splendid position to carry on an extensive trade with the West Indies, Central and South America, Africa, and southern Europe. However, according to the statistics presented by the Shipping Board Bureau, the principal imports originated in the countries on the Havre-Hamburg Range while the east coast of South America ranked second as a source of tonnage. England, Chile, Canada, and Cuba were the remaining principal sources of the import traffic of the port.

Distribution of export shipments from Jacksonville was rather widespread, there being a total of 21 countries which imported commodities originating at this port. Shipments to the United Kingdom ranked first in tonnage and were made up of 14 commodities or classes. Japan ranked second in tonnage, the greater part of which shipments were scrap iron and naval stores. Germany, Netherlands, and Belgium, on the Havre-Hamburg Range, were next in tonnage, while the countries on the east coast of South America ranked fourth. From the statistics it appears that while a sound trade has been established between Jacksonville and the United Kingdom, North Europe and the east coast of South America, the traffic between this port and the West Indies, Central America, west coast of South America, Africa, and southern Europe is yet in the stage of primary development.

Even though its present export traffic is limited in extent as compared with the potential trade, the port of Jacksonville has continued to grow since its inception as a seaport. In 1900 the total water-borne commerce of the port amounted to 816,477 tons, valued at approxi

91710-37-10

mately $20,000,000, but by 1915 the tonnage moving through the port had increased to 2,313,446 short tons. During the period of the World War and immediately thereafter the traffic of the port declined, but beginning in 1920 there was a steady increase in tonnage until 1931 when traffic declined to 2,103,152 short tons. By 1934 a considerable portion of the loss in tonnage had been recovered. A movement of 3,060,648 short tons, valued at $135,080,950, was recorded for that year.

During the period from 1917 through 1934 there have been several changes in the character of the commerce of the port. At the beginning of this period, and continuing up to 1926, petroleum and petroleum products were imported in large quantities, but in the latter year a decline in the imports of this commodity set in which has continued to the present. Imports of petroleum during 1935 amounted to only 4 tons of 2,240 pounds. Fertilizer and fertilizer materials are at present the dominating factor in the import trade, while bananas, creosote, and paper and paper products have become important commodities in recent years. The import trade reached its peak in 1926 with receipts totalling 719,518 short tons, but since that year there has been a steady decline and in 1934 the import trade amounted to only 161,166 short tons.

Fertilizer and fertilizer materials were exported in considerable quantity prior to 1924 but in recent years the movement of this commodity has been very small.

Manufactures of iron and steel and coal were important commodities in the export trade during the early part of this period. The present movement of these commodities is almost negligible. Logs and lumber and naval stores have always ranked as important export commodities. New additions to this trade in recent years are scrap metal and crushed shell, which have attained an important place due to the large amounts exported. The export trade of Jacksonville was of minor importance prior to the World War. In 1917 the total shipments to foreign lands amounted to 19,500 short tons while in 1920 they had reached a total of 552,439 short tons. From 1920 to 1926 this trade declined to 127,763 tons. The trend during the latter part of the period has been slowly upward with 310,630 short tons moved in 1934.

The trend of the coastwise trade has been steadily upward, receipts showing an increase from 589,637 short tons in 1917 to 1,342,022 tons in 1934, while shipments have generally remained on about the same average level.

Petroleum receipts have held a commanding position throughout the entire period while coal and lumber were important inbound commodities during the early part of the period only. Iron and steel manufactures have continued to remain important to this traffic