Hillcrest in Jacksonville in Duval County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Van Zant House

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 11, 2018

1. Van Zant House Marker

Inscription. Musicians Ronnie, Donnie, and Johnny Van Zant spent their formative years growing up in this house with their sisters and parents between the 1950s and 1980s. A serendipitous foul ball hit by Ronnie Van Zant at a nearby park struck future bandmate Bob Burns in the head, knocking him unconscious. This chance encounter led to what would become one of the most famous, hardest working rock ‘n roll bands in the world, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Gold and platinum records from millions of album sales adorned the walls of this house while the band toured worldwide. Tragedy cut short the original incarnation of Lynyrd Skynyrd, when four members of the band, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, died in a plane crash in Mississippi on October 20, 1977, after their tour plane ran out of fuel. The surviving members of the band and crew were seriously injured. Ten years later, Johnny Van Zant took over as lead singer, and Lynyrd Skynyrd was reborn. Donnie Van Zant was a founding member and lead singer of the rock band .38 Special, a highly successful band in its own right. The Van Zants’ legacy, memorialized in this house, commemorate their prodigious

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contribution to the world of rock music.

Erected 2016 by Blue Horizon Property Solutions, LLC and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-905.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment.

Location. 30° 17.957′ N, 81° 44.386′ W. Marker is in Jacksonville, Florida, in Duval County. It is in Hillcrest. It is at the intersection of Woodcrest Road and Mull Street, on the right when traveling west on Woodcrest Road. Marker is located inside of the fenced yard of the private residence. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5419 Woodcrest Road, Jacksonville FL 32205, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s First Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one

Van Zant House Marker and Residence image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 11, 2018

2. Van Zant House Marker and Residence

of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Skirmish at Cedar Creek (approx. 0.9 miles away); All Those That Fought (approx. 1.3 miles away); Camp Captain Mooney Cemetery (approx. 1.3 miles away); Camp Capt. Mooney Cemetery (approx. 1.3 miles away); Murrary Hill (approx. 1.7 miles away); Riverside Avondale Historic District (approx. 1.7 miles away); Cheney/Cummer/Schneider House (approx. 2.6 miles away); Birth of the Allman Brothers Band (approx. 2.7 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Jacksonville.

Another marker is no longer nearby. Ortega's Most Famous Resident (was approx. 2.7 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Also see . . . Lynyrd Skynyrd History. (Submitted on July 17, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)

Johnny Van Zant image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Spc. Patrick A. Ziegler, April 16, 2007

3. Johnny Van Zant

Lead singer of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Van Zant shakes hands with David Smith and Mrs. Birgit Smith, family of Medal of Honor recipient Sgt. First Class Paul R. Smith prior to a performance at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa, Fla. (Courtesy US Army).

Credits. This page was last revised on February 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 17, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 2,053 times since then and 154 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 17, 2018, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 3. submitted on July 31, 2018, by J. Makali Bruton of Washington, District of Columbia. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.