6 Jaw-Dropping Facts About Jacksonville, Florida

Jacksonville, Florida is the most populous city in both the state of Florida and the southeastern part of the United States. The city was founded two hundred years ago, and has in recent years picked up the nickname of “The Bold New City of the South.”

Here are six fun Jacksonville, Florida facts

1. 1. Jacksonville, Florida is the largest city by area in the continental United States. (source) Jacksonville, which is nicknamed ‘the First Coast,’ is not only the largest city in the state of Florida, but it’s the largest city (by area) in America, at 875 square miles. The only two cities outside of the continental United States are Wrangell and Anchorage, both of which are in Alaska.

2. 2. Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers and Limp Bizkit were all formed in Jacksonville. (source) Plenty of notable bands have been formed in the Bold City. Lynyrd Skynyrd came together in 1966, although they were initially named as the The Pretty Ones, before changing their name just a few years later in 1969.

3. 3. Jacksonville, Florida is one of the most dangerous cities in America for bike riders. (source) A recent study found that Jacksonville is one of the least bike-friendly cities in the United States, only behind Los Angeles, Houston, Phoenix, Chicago, San Bernardino and Santa Ana. Based on the research, which was done by Tower Electric Bikes, it was found that Jacksonville sees 4.60 deaths per 10,000 residents traveling by bicycle.

4. 4. The Jacksonville Farmers Market is the oldest farmer’s market in all of Florida. (source) The Jacksonville Farmers Market offers a very large array of vendors, where you can not only get handpicked produce from the local farmers, but there are several other unique finds. This local attraction has been a Jacksonville staple since 1938.

5. 5. Jacksonville was named after General Andrew Jackson, who never even visited Jacksonville. (source) Andrew Jackson wasn’t just the seventh President of the United States, but was also the very first military governor of Florida. In 1822, it was two settlers who donated land on the north bank of Cowford in an attempt to establish a “proper” town, and named it “Jacksonville” to honor Andrew Jackson, who had never even been there.

6. 6. From 2012 to 2022, no NFL team lost more games than the Jacksonville Jaguars. (source) From the 2012 through 2021 NFL seasons, the Jacksonville Jaguars lost 119 regular season games, which was the worst mark in the National Football League over that span. The only other teams to lose 100 games or more during that span include the New York Giants (100), New York Jets (106) and Cleveland Browns (108).

As a city that was founded two hundred years ago in 1822, Jacksonville has quite the storied history. If you’re from Jacksonville and have even more fun facts to share, let us know about them in the comments below.