Jacksonville's Ghost Town: Yukon

[Ocklawaha]

Thank's for the reply. I was recalling some other things about the community. Somebody had a flock of guinea hens, every time we'd come roaring through they'd all start calling out. It was funny because they sounded very much like the starter of a Chrysler automobile.

The soda's we used to by I think were RC's, the door had a little metal push plate that had a 'Merita Bread' advertisement on it. We'd go on up to the larger market in Yukon, after we'd stop in to see Pete Rood, the agent at the Yukon railroad depot and got the information on the trains for that day. The store in Yukon had these super good chocolate ginger snap cookies which were a staple of my diet when roaming from Ortega to Collins Road.

The building being moved is no doubt a true story. Camp Foster and Camp Johnston were at Black Point on the St. Johns River. This is the part of NAS JAX that was known as 'Mainside.' The entire Black Point community was physically moved across the tracks. The railroad called it Yukon and the name stuck. The Yukon Baptist Church was also moved across the tracks from the point. In those day's the base functions were pretty limited to the riverfront area. When WWI and II broke out the base spilled out across the tracks and the NAVY built 'Dewey Park' as a housing development. Meanwhile Stockton, Whatley, Davin built Ortega Hills.

I recall an incident in the Yukon church where my dad, a former big band musician helped out with the music program. As dad was the volunteer minister of music, I was officially a PK. (preachers kid) One sunday a really beautiful young black family visited the church, no doubt around 1960 or so. One of the elders of the church went over at the end of the service and told them they needed to find a 'black church' (perhaps the one you remember). My dad blew a gasket and went after the elder and the pastor... we never went back. I finally did some 20 years later just to visit the old place and show my COLOMBIAN WIFE where I attended church as a kid.

If you get anything going on the old cemetery restoration, I'd be glad to offer some sweat equity to your project. God knows I played 'army' out there enough times. I went back about 1985 and tried to find the stones, some were VERY OLD. Civil war or earlier as I recall. I also looked for a brick lined grave that was never used or filled in, we thought it was built for us as a sort of 'bunker'. When I went back I couldn't find a single indication that anything was ever there! Weird!

OCKLAWAHA

[Casterlow]

By the way, Great Grandpa Henry (who owned the little store) was said to also have sold moonshine. Don't know if he had the still, but given his industrious self, I would not doubt it. His granddaughters (my grandma's sister) used to talk about. Now mind you, he was a staunch deacon in his church too. SMILE

[Ocklawaha]

By the way, Great Grandpa Henry (who owned the little store) was said to also have sold moonshine. Don't know if he had the still, but given his industrious self, I would not doubt it. His granddaughters (my grandma's sister) used to talk about. Now mind you, he was a staunch deacon in his church too. SMILE

He most CERTAINLY did! I know where at least one of the locations is at. The shine was known as white whiskey. The stuff is bled off from the snake after the alcohol is separated from the steam in the 'thump keg'. Where a good whiskey is aged for years in wooden barrels, each of which give it a different flavor. The barrels are often burned out on the inside to a black char finish. The charcoal in the burned interiors mellow the whiskey and give it a sweeter taste and it's tea color. The white whiskey is pretty raw stuff, but every self respecting operator had his or her own family recipe. Wouldn't it be cool to find your Grandpa's formula?

Do you know if anyone has a plat of the graves in the old cemetery?

[Casterlow]

Wow. Where have you been all these years. Your memory is impeccable! He has a step granddaughter in her 80s still living in Jacksonville but I have not been successful in reaching her. I just reached out to members of the family to see if I can make a connection and to see what she remembers.

I tried years ago to get the cemetery records and supposedly a deed. That were kept by Dave Jackson. Never got them and he has been dead for years (since the late 80s). I have a list of the many of the people buried there but no plat. I visited it two years ago with a couple of folks. It has been abandoned. I would like to acquire the deed and property and work to have it at least fenced in and later surveyed. There are hundreds of bodies there. I have been collecting death certificates of persons I know  buried there.

[Ocklawaha]

This would be a very cool project to fence and preserve the cemetery, survey it, clear some of the scrub brush and maybe find a way to get markers.



OCKLAWAHA

[Casterlow]

Yes, I am going to make this a project in 2013. We will erect one marker that will site as the Yukon Cemetery....I am going to create a Yukon website as well as post some of the images of people that i hvae on it and other history.

[thelakelander]

I just came across this picture of Camp Johnston. Does anyone know what the Rue de Meaux was or meant?


State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory, http://floridamemory.com/items/show/42612

Camp Joseph E. Johnston buildings along "Rue de Meaux" - Jacksonville, Florida on November 22, 1918.

[sandyshoes]

Casterlow, have you tried checking with the SGES (Southern Genealogist's Exchange Society) over on the westside (Sauterne, I believe, off 103rd/Blanding).  They are open only a couple of days a week but check their website first.  They have a couple of people over there who specialize in old cemeteries, maybe they could help or at least point you in the right direction. 

[904InsulatorCollector]

Does anybody remember the telephone pole lines that ran through yukon? i have hunted for glass insulators down there but want to learn more about where the telephone poles were. Any help or info is greatly appreciated.
Henry

[acme54321]

Does anybody remember the telephone pole lines that ran through yukon? i have hunted for glass insulators down there but want to learn more about where the telephone poles were. Any help or info is greatly appreciated.
Henry

I know where some of the old poles are, but I have seen no sign of any insulators.

[904InsulatorCollector]

I have found some around.  Where are the poles that you know of
Located ?
Thank you
Henry
Happy huntings

[David Butts]

This is great reading, I am the grandson of Willis Butts and although I knew some of the info stated on here, Some of the other is simply amazing. I was born in 1960 and spent many days as a young child with my father Willis Jr at the Butts mobile homes sales lot which used to sit just north of the base next to Airbase furniture. The property is now where the large apartment complex is. I also, when spending the weekend with my Grandparents would have to go to Yukon Baptist church.

[LParham]

Thank you for posting about Dewey Park!!!!  When I went searching at Yukon village in the 80's I was shocked to find the demolished housing, dead end roads, chains etc.  I drove around to the park site and it was dismal too.  As I was standing along the road to the park entrance, aircraft passed over my head.  I remembered how low the airplanes were in the 50's when we lived there, but i declare this plane was really really low. 
This is my very first effort on this website but I just had to tell you thanks!  I'll definitely be back with more to add soon.

[acme54321]

Thank you for posting about Dewey Park!!!!  When I went searching at Yukon village in the 80's I was shocked to find the demolished housing, dead end roads, chains etc.  I drove around to the park site and it was dismal too.  As I was standing along the road to the park entrance, aircraft passed over my head.  I remembered how low the airplanes were in the 50's when we lived there, but i declare this plane was really really low. 
This is my very first effort on this website but I just had to tell you thanks!  I'll definitely be back with more to add soon.

The planes seem lower because they are.  The runway was lengthened to the west which led to the demolition of the houses.

[MitigationMike]

I was doing some research trying to track down the history of the Yukon train depot building and I found these posts.  The bad news is that last year it's owner had it demolished as it had fallen into irrecoverable disrepair.  My friend and I were, however, made aware of what was going on and the age of the structure before it was dismantled so we coordinated with the demolition team and harvested the structural members that the building was built on.  For what it's worth in my opinion the building itself had long lost most of its charm and history during it's multiple "upgrades" over the years.  However, the backbone of the structure was made of virgin forest heart pine and we are currently building custom conference and dining tables with the material right here in Jacksonville.  Don't any of you worry though as the history of the station will roll on with these re-purposed jewels because each table will be permanantly marked so that they can always be traced to the Yukon Train Depot.  Further, I will see to it that every new owner be provided with directions to find this and other posts like it where they can read about the history behind these heirloom pieces.