Secret Jacksonville: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure

by Bill Delaney

You could call Jacksonville the secret city of Florida because even many natives have a tough time pinning down its defining features and best spots. But for anyone willing to dig beneath the surface, there’s no shortage of incredible sights, hidden histories and unusual relics just waiting to be discovered. Want to see the world’s largest Native American woodcarving, chart the roots of Southern rock, or eat curly fries at the barbecue joint that claims to have invented them?
Secret A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful and Obscure is dedicated to telling the stories behind forgotten, mysterious and just plain interesting spots across Jacksonville, St. Augustine, Fernandina Beach and the surrounding communities. Here you’ll find out where you can see a long forgotten Florida waterfall with connections to Jacksonville’s founder, and learn why there’s a tombstone in the middle of a neighborhood sidewalk. You’ll hear the stories behind local delicacies like Jacksonville-style garlic crabs, datil peppers, Mayport shrimp and camel rider sandwiches. And of course, you’ll learn what exactly is up with that orange roadside dinosaur everyone’s always talking about.
Jacksonville writer Bill Delaney has a deep passion for his hometown and a keen interest in underrepresented stories. From folklore to history and everything in between, join him to explore a side of the Bold City you can only find by leaving the well-trodden path.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published September 15, 2021

About the author

Bill Delaney is a writer from Jacksonville, Florida. He is the author of Secret Jacksonville: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure, and cofounder of Modern Cities and TheJaxsonMag.com. In addition to writing, he serves as an aide to Jacksonville mayor Donna Deegan, and has previously worked in higher education and magazine publishing. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English from the University of North Florida.

Reviews

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very cool compendium of Jacksonville places, some of which I visit regularly, some of which I've been meaning to go to, and some of which I had no idea existed at all. A lot of these places are definitely weird and/or obscure and the ones I've been to are absolutely wonderful. I'm excited to go explore these new-to-me parts of town!

[Timothy Grubbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doesn’t hurt to learn a few new things about my hometown’s history and culture…

Secret Jacksonville: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure by Bill Delaney is a guidebook to some of the quirks and businesses that shape the personality of Jacksonville, Florida.

While “secret” may be a bit of a stretch (as some of the entries are well known), each two page chapter covers an interesting element of Jacksonville, from shops to restaraunts to tourist traps to parks…

There’s even a bit on the signature sandwich of Jacksonville which I’d never heard of and I’ll have to be sure to try soon…

This book also explained a few of the odd buildings and structures I’ve passed by during my drives…that had significantly more character and history to it than I would have thought…

[Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book, well researched and written, nice two page per topic format, lots of photos including a section of color photos in the center. As a new resident, I wanted to get to know my new city. Some of the topics were a bit too arcane to be of much interest to me or anyone but the most fervent Jacksonville history buff. But I upgraded my original three star rating to four, because I guess 'arcane' was the point of the book. It's pretty much in the title. It's not billed as a tourist or even a new resident guide and it's not.

[Kathy Holland · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a wonderful introduction and guide to the First Coast area from Cumberland Island, GA, north of the city, to St. Augustine to the south. I lived in Jacksonville for 24 years, and many of the locations and their history were new to me. From the historical to the quirky, I heartily recommend Secret Jacksonville to anyone visiting the area as well as long time residents. Well done, Bill Delaney!!

[Heather Krull · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have lived in for almost 10 years and still learning more about our “new” home.
Some of the places mentioned in the book I knew of from friends or have seen but I was fun to learn more about them and also learn about places I didn’t know about so close to my home.
I look forward to hunting these places down and seeing them for myself.

[David Tarkington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this book in a small bookstore in St. Marys, GA while on a day trip. Been to a number of the sites mentioned. Will now go to others. This is a must-read for anyone in Duuuval or nearby areas (like my home in Clay.) Loved the book.

[JwW White · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read for people living in or interested in Northeast Florida. Bill Delaney outlines a wealth of sites and historical information that tend to get overlooked and thus go unknown. I’ve lived in the area for 17 years and didn’t know about many of the things in this book.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacksonville is a secret place. For someone not from here, it’s great to get a guide with locations and enough information so I know where to go and what I am looking at.

[angelofmine1974 · Rating 3 out of 5]

My review of this book can be found on my YouTube Vlog at:

https://youtu.be/bLWLP-JonU8

Enjoy!

[Kinsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great book! I learned so much about Jacksonville history and added lots of local places to visit to my bucket list.