arlington/ ft. caroline

Don't be fooled. At first glance, Arlington may seem like little more than typical suburbia. Yet Arlington is one of the first areas in the United States visited by Europeans. It was the site of the French Fort Caroline in 1564, nowadays the Fort Caroline National Memorial is there for visitors to enjoy. On the outskirts of Arlington, the 46,000-acre Timucuan Ecological and Historical Preserve continues to be heralded by as one of the most beautiful and magical natural settings. Make sure to stop at Tree Hill Nature Center or the Jacksonville Arboretum and Gardens and bring your gear for the biking and hiking trails in the area.

Arlington was a settlement to the east across the St. Johns River from Jacksonville; today it refers to most of Jacksonville east and south of the St. Johns, west of the Intracoastal Waterway, and north of the Arlington River and Southside.

Fort Caroline is a 16th century fort on the southern banks of the St Johns River in Jacksonville. The fort was built by the French in the 1560s in an attempt to claim their part of the new world.

Jacksonville University was founded in 1934 in downtown Jacksonville as a junior college offering night classes. It quickly became a four-year, co-ed institution and moved to its present location in the Arlington area of Jacksonville in the early 1950s. It sits between University Blvd and the St. Johns River, directly across from downtown. If you love watching college sports, JU offers a wide array of male and female sporting events at economical prices.