User:Doggyben/sandbox

= Durkeeville = Durkeeville is a community/neighborhood officially located in the west side of Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in the 1930's as a neighborhood for middle class African Americans  during legal mandatory segregation in the United States was still in effect. Since then, it has become a site for historical landmarks, events, and a society to keep its historical status.

Summary
Durkeeville is officially located in Mid- West side Jacksonville, Florida, bordered by I-95 and King's Road. In it contains a few distinct areas such as its warehouse district and residential areas. The warehouse district is comprised of warehouses no longer in use by manufacturing businesses, one of the largest rail yards in the city, as well as a farmer's market and Beaver street Fisheries.

There are two main residential areas, West Duval Street and its main residence by W 6th Street and Myrtle Avenue. West Duval street has several two storied 'shot gun" styled houses while the main residence is comprised of suburbs with bungalow inspired architecture.

History
During the 1930’s back when segregation was still prominent in the United States, there were a group of middle and working-class people who came together to create a neighborhood for African Americans. After segregation was outlawed, many of the Durkeeville residents moved out to find more commercial neighborhoods, and because of so, buildings and structures wore down and crime quickly began to spread. By the 1980's crime became such a problem that some of the long time residents joined together and formed the Durkeeville Historical Society,in which they came together with city officials to in an attempt to qualify the neighborhood under historical protection.

The neighborhood was named after a man named Joseph Harvey Durkee, a hero of the Civil War. After the war, he sold land to African Americans, which later on came to be known as Durkeeville. His son, Jay Harvey Durkee, also sold and donated land to African Americans which later on became J.P. Small Park.

J. P. Small Park
J. P. Small Park was originally solod to the city of Jacksonville in 1932 and was built in 1937. The stadium was made for professional baseball and was home to to the Jacksonville Redcaps, a team in the Negro League .Originally named Durkee Field, it was renamed in honor of a coach at Stanton High School after working there for 33 years. The park is located on Myrtle Avenue and 7th Street West.

Ax Handle Saturday
Axe handle Saturday” occurred on Aug. 27, 1960. On that day, over two hundred white Americans wielding bats and axe handles chased and attacked several African Americans after they organized a sit-in on a “whites only” area. At first the African Americans were spit on and called racial slurs, then the situation escalated when the whites brought bats and axe handles and started beating any African American in sight, regardless of whether or not they were a part of the sit-in. The police idly watched until a black gang known as the Boomerangs came due to the violence, in which the police then joined the axe wielders to further beat on the African Americans.