Collections

As Director of the Jacksonville Expressway Authority during the pivotal transportation years of 1956-1972, Mr. Sollee was a major influence in the development of the Jacksonville, Florida road system in Duval County, Florida in the mid-twentieth century. The collection consists primarily of correspondence, subject files and reports, and newspaper clippings relating to transportation projects in Duval County. It includes extensive documentation on the development of Jacksonville's road system, circa 1950-1970, consisting chiefly of numerous, albeit irregular, primary reports / studies; beach erosion / bulkhead data; and personal notes on Jacksonville transportation issues from the perspective of a prime participant. Historical source documents include project files relating to plans for Metropolitan Park and the Duval County Courthouse, and correspondence / newspaper clippings relating to the University of North Florida site selection. Few personal items are included.

This collection contains awards, correspondence, memorabilia, printed materials, photographs, personal papers, and writings. Many printed materials and photographs relate to politics and political activism. There are numerous photographs and newspaper clippings, as well as Dr. Saffy's dissertation. The collection contains many memorabilia items, particularly from various political events, and there are two large portraits of Dr. Edna Louise Saffy.

The collection consists of printed materials, artifacts, and memorabilia relating to the Drew Family and their businesses in the Jacksonville area. Many of the items in this collection belonged to Horace Rainsford Drew, Jr. The collection is divided into two series: personal papers and business records.

The collection includes documents pertaining to the biographical research about Dr. James Hall, and the efforts of several Jacksonville residents to recognized Dr. Hall and to publicize the historical importance of his burial site. The collection includes biographical materials, correspondence, newspaper clippings, research notes, minutes of meetings, maps, periodicals, presentationsand speeches by Dr. G. Dekle Taylor, and photographs. The majority of the correspondence, presentations, and documents pertain to Dr. Taylor's role and activities from 1972 to 1984, principal among them a 1974 co-authored article about Hall in the Journal of the Florida Medical Association.

The primary source materials in this collection provide historical documentation and evidence of selective elections and political campaigns held in Duval County and Jacksonville, Florida. The earliest items are Duval County election records dated 1904; the majority of the materials date from the late twentieth century to the present decade. Printed materials include sample election ballots and guides, voting brochures and pamphlets, and a voting registration receipt card. Artifacts and memorabilia include political campaign buttons and stickers from Jacksonville mayoral, U.S. Senate, and Presidential campaigns.

The collection contains original political cartoons, personal letters, and ephemera. The majority of the cartoon collection relates to Florida and Jacksonville and were published in the Florida Times-Union Newspaper.

The collection consists of administrative and financial records, and publications which chronicle the League's activities and development from 1967-1986. The bulk of the collection are printed materials.

The collection contains correspondence, publications and printed materials, project and subject files, and photographs relating to Mr. Simons' personal and professional activities throughout his adult life, from his college years until his retirement in 1970. The chronology begins with documentation of his higher education activities, including class notebooks, his thesis (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1915) and correspondence with professors. His professional career as a planning, zoning and municipal consultant is well-documented with extensive business files, including contracts and agreements, notes, correspondence, and working papers for many of the municipal planning, land use, and zoning projects undertaken by Mr. Simons. One strength of the collection is its depth of project publications, reports and plans created by Mr. Simons over a forty year professional career, 1928-1970. Subject files also show Mr. Simons' broad-ranging interests in various urban planning and financial topics. The Jacksonville, Florida, connection is well-documented in his personal papers. Mr. Simons was a longtime resident and civic leader in Jacksonville with broad personal interests, and the collection contains printed materials, including ephemera, relating to his numerous memberships in local clubs and organizations, and his religious affiliation with Riverside Presbyterian Church. Also, included are rare photographs of early Jacksonville residential construction scenes (Venetia), snapshots of Jacksonville landscapes and buildings, city parks, and numerous group photographs from Mr. Simons' participation in professional and social organizations.

This collection is home to the personal papers of Grace Brooks Solomon, a political activist in Jacksonville, Florida, most notably known for her work during her presidency of the Minority Women's Coalition. These papers provide insight into the professional career and personal life of Grace Brooks Solomon as well as her efforts to memorialize her sister, former Jacksonville City Council Member, Sallye Brooks Mathis. Furthermore, this collection grants a look into the many racial issues and desegregation efforts made by women of color as well as school board members in Florida during the 1980s and 90s.

The collection contains materials relating to Humphries' political activities, chiefly his tenure on the Jacksonville City Council from 1967-1971. The core of the collection are newspaper clippings pertaining to the Council's activities under the new consolidated government. Additional printed materials provide documentation on the site selection of the University of North Florida in 1969.