Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Coordinates: 30°14′N 81°23′W / 30.233°N 81.383°W / 30.233; -81.383
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
"Ponte Vedra" redirects here. For other uses, see Pontevedra (disambiguation).

Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
State
Florida
CountySt. Johns
Area
 • Total33.8 sq mi (88 km2)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total29,495[1]
 • Density858/sq mi (331/km2)
ZIP code
32082
Area code(s)904, 324

Ponte Vedra Beach is a wealthy

unincorporated community and suburb of Jacksonville, Florida in St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Located 18 miles (29 km) southeast of downtown Jacksonville and 26 miles (42 km) north of St. Augustine, it is part of the Jacksonville Beaches
area, and on the island nicknamed San Pablo Island.

The area is known for its

TPC Sawgrass
.

History

What is now north Florida was visited several times by European explorers in the 16th century, but there is little evidence for them specifically coming to Ponte Vedra Beach. It may have been sighted by Juan Ponce de León during his voyage to Florida in 1513, but as his precise landfall is unknown, this claim can be made by many communities on the east coast of Florida.

The area remained sparsely populated through the late 19th century, even as other seaside communities began to develop to the north. Minerals were discovered in 1914, and a community known as Mineral City grew around the mining operations. These minerals, mostly titanium (

National Lead Company bought Buckman and Pritchard in 1921 and discontinued mining as demand dropped after World War I. In 1929 it began to develop the area to be similar to The Cloister in Sea Island, Georgia. Colonel Joseph C. Stehlin, who had been with the company in St. Louis, arrived on January 1, 1929, to manage development.[4]

The company wanted a more impressive name than Mineral City for its resort, so Colonel Stehlin and his wife, Elizabeth (née Morton), went to the library in St. Augustine to research various possibilities for a new name. Since Florida had been under Spanish rule, they looked on an old map and found the name

Lérez River centuries earlier. Colonel Stehlin submitted the name to the National Lead board for approval and Mineral City became Ponte Vedra.[4]

Ponte Vedra Club

Main article: Ponte Vedra Inn and Club

In the early 1920s, the National Lead Company built a nine-hole golf course designed by

Herbert Bertram Strong, one of the founders of the PGA, plus a 12-room clubhouse constructed of logs for the use of its employees.[5]
After the company left the area, that real estate became the foundation of the Ponte Vedra Club. Stockton, Whatley, Davin & Co., a local developer, became the owner of the Ponte Vedra Corporation in July 1934.[4][6]

World War II

Main article: Operation Pastorius

During

Jacksonville and departed by train for Cincinnati and Chicago. The invaders were captured before they could do any damage. They were tried by a military tribunal and executed.[8]

Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass

Main article: TPC at Sawgrass

In 1972, real estate developers broke ground on the 1,100-acre (4.5 km2) Sawgrass development. In the mid-1970s, Deane Beman, the Commissioner of the PGA golf tour, was looking for a permanent home for the Tournament Players Championship. Many places in northern Florida were being considered. In an attempt to bring positive attention to the area, developer Paul Fletcher offered a 400-acre (1.6 km2) tract of land to Beman for $1.

Beman could not refuse this one dollar deal for the future home of The Players Championship and the headquarters of the PGA Tour. The Sawgrass Stadium Course has been the permanent home of The Players Championship since 1982.

Geographics

Ponte Vedra Beach is wholly located east of the

ZIP code
32081.

Demographics

Median household income in Ponte Vedra Beach is $150,646[9] and median family income is $109,181.[10] The median age is 41.8. The Ponte Vedra area is known for being a very affluent area of North Florida, and boasts one of the best school districts in Florida.[10] Ponte Vedra Beach was 50th on the list of 100 finalists for CNN and Money Magazine's 2005 List of the Best Places to Live. It was the first place in Florida to be named in that year and one of only four areas in the state to make the cut.[10] As of April 1, 2024 the average house costs around $898,000.[11]

Education

Main article: St. Johns County School District

Public

Alice B. Landrum Middle School is the primary, public middle school in the area. The Ponte Vedra Palm Valley-Rawlings Elementary School serves as one of the primary, public elementary schools (K-5) in the area, as well as Ocean Palms Elementary School.[12]

Ponte Vedra offers private education (K-8) at the Palmer Catholic Academy. Also, the

Bolles School has one of their two lower school campuses in Ponte Vedra Beach, and offers education from pre-kindergarten to fifth grade before transferring students to the middle and high schools located in Jacksonville, Florida.[13]

Additionally, the

St Johns County Public Library System has a Ponte Vedra Beach branch library.[14]

Notable people

Famous past and present residents of Ponte Vedra:

See also

References

  1. ^ "Ponte Vedra FL Demographics data". Towncharts.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ "U.S. Census Bureau: St. Johns County is the richest in Florida". Jacksonville.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  3. ^ "FGS - Florida Minerals". Dep.state.fl.us. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  4. ^
    ISBN 978-0692713389
    .
  5. ^ Cox, Roger. "Tennis Resorts Online: link to Ponte Vedra Inn & Club". Tennisresortsonline.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  6. ^ Fitzroy, Maggie: "When Ponte Vedra was just a rural beach" Archived August 12, 2011, at the Wayback Machine Florida Times-Union, May 31, 2007
  7. ^ "The Type VIIC boat U-584 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net". uboat.net. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  8. ^ "FBI History, Famous Cases: George John Dasch and the Nazi Saboteurs". Fbi.gov. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  9. ^ "Ponte Vedra, Florida". Trulia.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c "Money Official Site - Finance News & Advice Since 1972". Money.com. Archived from the original on June 1, 2022. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  11. ^ "Ponte Vedra Beach average and median listing prices". Trulia.com. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  12. ^ "Florida Schools - Florida State School Ratings - Public and Private". Greatschools.org. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  13. ^ [1] [dead link]
  14. ^ [2] [dead link]
  15. ^ Mark Woods (March 30, 2022). "Jason Altmire knows a thing or two about being in the Dead Center of American politics". Jacksonville Times-Union.
  16. ^ Elise Elder (November 2, 2021). "Governor's former house included in booming housing market". Associated Press.
  17. ^ Gray, Alistair (July 28, 2017). "Florida's 'hidden gem' for prime homes: Ponte Vedra Beach". Financial Times. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  18. ^ O'Shei, Tim (May 3, 2015). "Helping grieving parents is only sure thing for Moorman". Billsblitz.wp.buffalonews.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017.[permanent dead link]
  19. ^ "Michael Russell". Cbssports.com. Retrieved July 31, 2017.

External links

30°14′N 81°23′W / 30.233°N 81.383°W / 30.233; -81.383

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