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Jacksonville, Way Back When...

Jacksonville ca. 1872, picture provided by www.tomatocapital.com


The Mayor and “Aldermen”, as they were called back then, assembled on Thursday, April 11, 1874, for the purpose of organizing said municipal government. Salaries were established. The Marshal received $65.00 per month. 

At the time, these first Jacksonville city ordinances were taken very seriously and were unyieldingly enforced.  Now, with all due respect, these old laws can bring a smile to our faces.

So, with admiration to the first Council, the first of many ordinances will be posted on the city’s website weekly, in hopes that we can visualize and understand what the citizens of 1874 first desired for the City of Jacksonville.


 

April 13, 1874

The Mayor of the Council shall have power to fine any member, thereof, not less than five dollars ($5.00) for absence from a regular meeting, unless the absentee renders a sufficient excuse at the next meeting of the Council.

The Recorder shall keep a list of those present at each meeting, shall keep a full and complete record of the proceedings of every meeting, and for every neglect of duty he shall be subject to a fine of five dollars ($5.00).

April 1874

If any person shall be guilty of using any loud, noisy or boisterous language, or behaving in a rude, indecent, riotous, or turbulent manner, or shall be guilty of any indecent conduct, or any mischief of any kind, or unusual noise as a result of intoxication, shall be fined not less than one ($1), or more than twenty dollars ($20).

Anyone who shall be guilty of an assault within the incorporation, or shall be guilty of any conduct calculated to disturb the peace or quiet of the town, shall be deemed guilty of an offense against the good order of the town and shall be fined in a sum not less then ten ($10) nor more than one hundred dollars ($100).

March 1882:

Every male person residing within the corporate limits, between the ages of 18 and 45, shall be required to work upon the public roads, streets, and sidewalks within said limits not more than ten days during any one year. Any person failing to perform the duties required, after being warned by the Marshall, or fail to pay to the Marshall the sum of $1.00 for each day he may be required to work, will be considered guilty of a misdemeanor and be fined not less than one nor more than $5.00 for each day he may fail to work.

February 1882:

All disorderly houses or houses of ill fame are declared nuisances and it shall be the duty of the Mayor, upon the complaint of three or more citizens, to use all lawful means to remove from within the corporate limits all such nuisances.

1882:

Any person who shall hereafter hitch any animal to any shade tree on any sidewalk or on any public street within said corporate limits, shall be fined not less than one nor more than ten dollars for each offense.

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