04/16/2024
We saw this on the page and had to share it! We love our little piece of parade we call bike, and it’s very cool to see how it’s evolved over the years! Thanks to everyone who share their archives, and to those who keep recording how amazing Jax Beach has become! ☀️🎣🌴😎
On April 15, 1960 the “Bone’s Pier” opened on 6th Avenue South in Jacksonville Beach!
At 1,200 feet, it was at the time the longest pier on the Atlantic Coast! Unfortunately, Hurricane Dora destroyed 600 feet of the length of the pier and only 400 of that was restored, leaving it at about 1,000 feet long.
The pier was built by Robert Williams and became known as “Bone’s Pier” after Williams sold the pier to George Bone in 1967. Williams said he built the pier at a cost of $81,000.
Dwight Wilson, who helped run his family’s hotel “The Silver Sea” and would become the Archivist at Beaches Museum, said, “On a Saturday, they could have 200 to 300 people on the pier. But on a Sunday you could count 400 to 600 people.”
In 1999, Hurricane Floyd dealt the pier its final blow and the property was sold to Duval County to be demolished and replaced. According to a Johnny Woodhouse article in the Ponte Vedra Leader, Robert Williams said with a chuckle, “They’re spending more money on pier surveys now than what it cost me to build the pier in the first place.”
Pictures are of Bone’s Pier from the Beaches Museum Archives and a picture of Robert Williams and George Bone from the Ponte Vedra Leader.
