The Jacksonville Beaches communities are all located on an unnamed barrier island defined by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the St. Johns River to the north, and the Intracoastal Waterway to the west. The island was actually originally a peninsula until 1912, when a 10-mile channel was dug connecting the San Pablo and Tolomato Rivers, facilitating the Intracoastal Waterway and separating the land from the mainland. The island has no official name; beginning in the 21st century there has been a push to name it San Pablo Island. The northernmost of the beach communities is Mayport, in Duval County. Since the consolidation of the Jacksonville and Duval County governments in 1968, Mayport has been within the city limits of Jacksonville. Most of Mayport is currently occupied by Naval Station Mayport, a major U.S. Navy base. Moving south along the coastline are three incorporated towns, also within Duval County: Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Jacksonville Beach. All three maintain their own municipal governments; however, residents receive county-level services from Jacksonville and vote for Jacksonville's mayor and City Council. Continuing south into St. Johns County is Ponte Vedra Beach. Typically, only the communities on the northern part of the island are considered the Beaches; areas to the south such as Vilano Beach are usually not included. The Palm Valley area of St. Johns County, much of which is also located on the island, is sometimes considered part of the Beaches.

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Neptune Beach - Part of the Jacksonville Beaches communities and located in Duval County, Neptune Beach is a quasi-independent town. Like the other towns, it maintains its own municipal government but its residents vote in the Jacksonville mayoral election and have representation on the Jacksonville city council.

Neptune Beach was originally part of Jacksonville Beach. Through its development, the part of Jacksonville Beach north of 20th Avenue North was sparsely populated, with a brick road (First Street) connecting the more populated southern area with Atlantic Beach. According to the best accepted story, the name "Neptune Beach" originated in 1922 with Dan G. Wheeler, one of the few residents. Wheeler had a home at what is now One Ocean hotel (now in Atlantic Beach), and had to walk all the way home from Mayport each evening after taking the Florida East Coast Railway train home from work in Jacksonville. A friend who worked for the railroad informed Wheeler that if he had a station, the train would have to stop for him, so Wheeler built his own train station near his home and named it Neptune.

Neptune seceded from Jacksonville Beach and incorporated as its own municipality in 1931, following a tax revolt. The comparatively few residents of the area were largely cut off from Jacksonville Beach city services such as police, fire, garbage collection, and road developments, though they paid taxes in equal share. The first mayor was O. O. McCollum, and the government met in Wheeler's old train station until a new town hall was completed in 1935.

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Together with Northside, Westside, and Southside, Arlington is one of the large sections of Duval County. Initially, Arlington was a settlement to the east across the St. Johns River from Jacksonville; today it refers to most of Jacksonville east and south of the St. Johns, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, and north of the Arlington River Southside.

Arlington was one of the first areas in the United States visited by Europeans; it was the site of the French Fort Caroline in 1564-1565, now represented by the Fort Caroline National Memorial. After the destruction of Fort Caroline, the area was only sparsely inhabited until the 19th century, when sawmills and plantations were established along the St. Johns River. After the American Civil War these gave way to residential developments, which were gradually absorbed into the Arlington community as it grew. The construction of the Matthews Bridge in 1953 opened the area up to significantly increased development, and over the next two decades Arlington became fastest growing part of the Jacksonville area.


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The Mandarin area of Jacksonville, Florida, is rich in history and has been a popular family community for more than 20 years. Primarily rural until the 1970's when developers discovered this area, Mandarin has experienced steady growth since, but mostly built out by the late 1990's. If quality education is a priority for your family, no other area in Duval County (Jacksonville) has as highly rated public schools across the board. Bordered by Julington Creek to the south and the St. Johns River to the west, there is no shortage of waterfront homesites in Mandarin.

Mandarin is also one of the only areas in Jacksonville, Florida east of the St. Johns River where homes on acreage are still easy to come by, including the occasional home on several acres with equestrian amenities.  The Beauclerc area of Jacksonville, Florida, is located directly North of Mandarin (North of I-295) in Jacksonville. Like Mandarin, Beauclerc also features several miles of riverfront homes along the St. Johns.


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