JACKSONVILLE BEACH, Fla. – The Beaches Museum is embracing Women’s History Month by highlighting the contributions of two remarkable women who shaped the community’s history.
Jacksonville Beach Mayor Chris Hoffman welcomed visitors to the museum, where she shared insights about these influential figures and their lasting impact.
One of the women featured is Jean H. McCormick, a descendant of the family that owned the Oceanic Hotel, where she learned the hospitality trade and met visitors from around the world.
She married JT McCormick of McCormick and Sons, a family that played a significant role in developing the Beaches area.
In the 1960s and 70s, as the community evolved, she and her friends founded the Beaches Area Historical Society, ensuring the preservation of local history.
A notable image of her climbing out of the Sandpiper Pool became iconic when a photographer from the Saturday Evening Post captured it shortly before her wedding to JT McCormick. Concerned about how her future father-in-law would react, she and her friends rushed to buy copies of the magazine to prevent a scandal.
The second woman featured is Rhoda L. Martin, who was born into slavery and later moved to Jacksonville Beach in the early 1900s.
Recognizing the lack of educational and religious resources for the African American community, she established a school in her kitchen and founded the St. Andrews AME Church.
Her efforts laid the groundwork for education and spiritual engagement in the community, which continued until schools were desegregated in the 1960s.
Martin lived to the age of 116, leaving behind a legacy of service and leadership. In her honor, the Jacksonville Beach Elementary School was renamed the Rhoda Martin Cultural Heritage Center, ensuring her contributions are remembered.
Hoffman reflected on her own journey, noting that she became the first woman mayor of Jacksonville Beach at a time when both the mayors of Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach were also women.
“I stand on the shoulders of the women here in Jacksonville Beach who have come before me,” she said, acknowledging trailblazers like Margaret McQueen and Bennie Furlong.
The Beaches Museum invites everyone to explore its exhibits, open six days a week with free admission.
The museum actively engages the community through social media, sharing snippets of local history and celebrating the contributions of women in the Beaches area.
“We want to engage our community as well as our visitors in what the Beaches was, is, and will become,” Hoffman concluded, encouraging all to visit and learn more about the rich history of the area.
