20250Nassau Village-RatliffNo comments yet TV Listings Email Newsletters RSS Feeds Contests and Rules Contact Us Careers at WJXT / WCWJ Closed Captioning / Audio Description WJXT Public File WJXT EEO Report WCWJ Public File WCWJ EEO Report Terms of Use Privacy Policy Do Not Sell My Info FCC Applications Copyright © 2025 News4JAX.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group The original wood floors from 1881 creaked under 25 pairs of feet those same floorboards creaked with the footfalls of dozens of travelers as they made their way through the Callahan train depot en route to hundreds of destinations about $5,000 worth of new lighting illuminates tables full of skulls arrowheads and an array of home-cooked comfort food participants tossed their paper plates in the small trashcan at the back of the room and filtered into three old wooden pews It's another monthly meeting for the West Nassau Historical Society and another set of speakers eager to share their fascination with the past a University of Florida anthropology professor The society hosts speakers every other month to educate the public on the history of West Nassau County Society president John Hendricks explained that the group's two-pronged mission is to "highlight preserve and foster interest in the rich history of the county and the upkeep and maintenance of the Callahan depot." now houses the historical society and the county clerk's office Callahan Mayor Shirley Graham is on the society's board of directors "[The Callahan depot] is very significant to the county and its history," she said The society is run entirely by volunteer members who are chugging steadily along on making improvements to the depot Donations from CSX and Rayonier last year funded new lighting for the depot museum The society's board raises funds through yard sales membership dues and the annual Railroad Days Festival In addition to shedding new light on the museum the historical society has been renovating a 1960s caboose just in time for the 2010 Railroad Days Festival scheduled for Friday and Saturday "The red caboose attracts more people than the depot "[We have] a core group of dedicated people who have put their heart and soul into it." Hendricks has no trouble justifying the time he spends working for the historical society as he has an if-we-don't-do-it-who-will attitude about the preservation of the county's history there have been some major historical losses in the county recently including two historical homes in Callahan and Ratliff and a 1950s church camp in Kings Ferry Jan Johannes is on the front-line of the historic rescue mission and has devoted years of his life to preserving the legacy of West Nassau County and individual heritages Lewis came to Florida with just $100 and dreams of pioneering the Florida insurance industry He became one of Florida's first black millionaires because blacks were not allowed to mingle with whites Lewis purchased a span of ocean-front property he named American Beach making it the only strip of coastline for miles that the black community was allowed access to Lewis's story and hundreds of others would have slipped through the sands of time unnoticed had it had not been for Johannes He is a lifetime member of the historical society and author of "Yesterday's Reflections II," a book about the history of West Nassau County What started as a Bicentennial project turned into a multiple edition local best-seller A copy of the first edition of "Yesterday's Reflections," printed July 3 is rumored to have sold on eBay for up to $700 In a county that at the time had a population of 28,000 Johannes' book sold out in the first five minutes it was on sale His undertaking wasn't always highly supported When he told people about his project he said they would ask him: "What the hell do you want to do a history on Nassau County for 'Oh yeah?' There are all kinds of things out there." The doubt didn't cause him to lose any steam Johannes stayed on track for more than a year collecting information from long-time residents' closets "I got tips about people who'd lived here a long time," he said "I went to houses or old farms on a hunch." Johannes and several others founded the historical society in the mid-1970s as a way to collect and archive the history of West Nassau County and to make it available to others "We hope to one day get the historic rail bed [the area where a railroad is built] as a designated historic and cultural area and expand," Hendricks said "We have a county whose history is worth preserving and telling others about Visit www.wnhsfl.org for more information about the society and a detailed event schedule for the upcoming Railroad Days Festival Don’t worry if those numbers don’t fit in your budget – we’ve got options to help you find a home or apartment that does we’ve gathered a list of the 4 best affordable Jacksonville suburbs to check out And they’re all less than 40 minutes away from the city you’ll still be close enough to Jacksonville to explore all the city has to offer without the price of living there claims the first spot on our list of affordable Jacksonville suburbs About 15,000 people live in this suburban area and you’ll only be about a 30-minute drive away from downtown Jacksonville you can check out the Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace Community Center or check out a new book at Bellair-Meadowbrook Terrace Library Coming in as the second most affordable suburb in Jacksonville is Nassau Village-Ratliff. Only 25 minutes from the city center you can visit popular attractions like the Little Talbot Island State Park and Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens in just a quick drive When living in this suburb of 5,000 people you can spend the day checking out the nearby Four Creeks State Forest Taking the third spot on our list is Macclenny This suburbs has a median home sale price of $315,000 and is only a 30-minute drive away there are plenty of cool areas to explore in Macclenny If you find yourself moving to the third most affordable suburb make sure to check out the many different parks and recreation areas Only slightly more expensive than Macclenny is Lakeside Lakeside is known for its beautiful views of Doctors Lake where you can fish You can also spend the day at Moody Avenue Park or drive to nearby Jennings State Forest to bike or hike on one of the trails there’s a fun outdoor activity to take part in 10 Pros and Cons of Living in Florida 10 Most Affordable Tampa Suburbs to Live In 10 Most Affordable Sarasota Suburbs to Live In 10 Most Affordable St. Petersburg Suburbs to Live In Serving homebuyers and sellers in the Jacksonville area Rush Lockhart is a top real estate agent at Redfin with the latest market insights and local expertise With years of experience as a real estate agent in the greater Jacksonville area Rush Lockhart possesses a wealth of knowledge and expertise in the local market 🇨🇦 Canada Updated January 2020: By searching, you agree to the Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy REDFIN IS COMMITTED TO AND ABIDES BY THE FAIR HOUSING ACT AND EQUAL OPPORTUNITY ACT. READ REDFIN’S FAIR HOUSING POLICY NY Standard Operating Procedures TREC: Info About Brokerage Services, Consumer Protection Notice please call Redfin Customer Support for help at 1-844-759-7732.