Since approximately 2500 B.C., there have been those who wished to be remembered by their memorials. Crypts, vaults and mausoleums were constructed to protect their remains. Those of stature or beloved by their followers had giant rock obelisks hauled to their final resting place. Egyptian kings trumped all others having their slaves build the colossal pyramids.
Not far from the center of our town there is such statuary. Many mark the final resting place of former founders, leaders, developers and successful entrepreneurs of the city we know as Jacksonville, Florida. With a considerable amount of research, we hope to provide insight into those who made their mark on our fine city.
Buried in the Old City Cemetery located near the bottom of West side of the Mathews Bridge is the tomb of Dr. Francis James Gould, M.D. Dr. Gould was born on January 24, 1828, in Charlestown, Massachusetts. It was written that Dr. Gould was an avid reader as a child and excelled in his studies. He was admitted to the famed Phillips Exeter Academy (PEA) at the early age of 15.
Founded in 1871, PEA was an all boys preparatory school with famous alumni such as: U.S. Senator Daniel Webster (1796); Robert Lincoln (President Lincoln’s son (1860); and Ulysses S. Grant, Jr. (1870). Today, it serves both men and women. Always a preparatory school for the wealthy, the 2009 posted tuition is $30,000 per year or $40,000 with room and board provided.
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Back in what truly had to be known as the original front of the Evergreen Cemetery stands a 30 ft. obelisk overlooking the site where the Hubbard family has gone to rest. Most of us hear the name Hubbard regularly and know it as the wonderfully benevolent Hubbard House. Its only connection to the Hubbard family is the fact that it originated in 1976 as a safe harbor for domestic violence victims on the Hubbard Street named after S. B. Hubbard. Hubbard Street runs North and South between State Street and Martin Luther King, Jr. Parkway.
