Jacksonville, at a narrow bend of the St. Johns River, was founded in 1822 and named for General Andrew Jackson, then provisional governor of Florida. Despite its promising location for trade, the city didn't boom until the second half of the 19th century. A disastrous fire struck in 1901, but Jacksonville quickly rebuilt and in the 1910s became the winter headquarters of the fledgling motion picture industry.

For an exciting new look at the area's history, visit the Museum of Science and History (MOSH) (1025 Museum Circle; 904-396-7062). This new hands-on museum traces the region's cultural history beginning around 12,000 B.C. through the present in its permanent exhibit, "Currents of Time." One of the museum's exhibits examines the Maple Leaf, a Civil War steamship that sunk in 1864 in the St. Johns River. The adjacent Jacksonville Maritime Museum (1015 Museum Circle; 904- 398-9011) details the city's maritime history.

In Riverside, stop by the Riverside Memorial Park (Riverside Ave. at Margaret St.), in the middle of an historic district. It was designed by nationally recognized landscape architect Frederick Law Olmstead, who designed New York City's Central Park, and contains a bronze statue entitled "Winged Victory," by St. Augustine artist Adrian Pillars, which commemorates the end of World War I.

Just beyond Jacksonville's historic Riverside-Avondale neighborhood, is the Museum of Southern History (4304 Herschel St.; 904-388-3574) with artifacts and exhibits relating to life in the antebellum South.

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