Mandarin Museum in Jacksonville, FL

Mandarin Museum in Jacksonville, Florida is an 1875 homestead in an area where English and Spanish explorers, Civil War soldiers, farmers, and citrus growers traveled. It is located in Mandarin, a small section of the City of Jacksonville, Florida. The area, once a small farming village, is known for it's natural beauty, historic buildings and parks.

During the 1800s, Mandarin was a farming community that shipped citrus fruits like oranges, grapefruits, lemons, and vegetables to Jacksonville and other areas. Steamships that traveled the St. John's River shipped the produce. One of these steamships was the Union steamship, the Maple Leaf. It hit a Confederate mine in 1864 and sank off of Mandarin Point.

Harriet Beecher Stowe also visited the village. During the winters of 1867 to 1884 she stayed in Mandarin.

The Mandarin Museum is maintained by the Mandarin Museum and Historical Society. The society was founded as a non-profit in 1991 with the purpose to preserve buildings, artifacts, and sites related to the history of the town.

The actual museum is in Walter Jones Historical Park, Jacksonville's first historical park. In the riverfront park is a typical 1800s Mandarin homestead with an 1875 farmhouse and 1876 barn and sawmill. This area became a museum in April of 2004.

The park received its name from Major William Webb, who bought 31.2 acres on the St. Johns River. He built a 1,000-foot dock and farmed the land. His family occupied the land until 1992.
The museum is open the first and third Sunday of every month. Group tours are available by appointment. Admission is free.