Historic Oakwood Villa - Woodland Acres

Historic Oakwood Villa - Woodland Acres. . This area was originally a part of several Spanish land-grants developed by Francis Richard I, a native Italian. He and his sons would eventually obtain land grants totaling 32,000 acres. One of those grants was a 250 acre grant along Silversmith Creek to his son, John B. Richard in 1800. A portion of the grant was known as the "Oakwood tract" and may well be the origin of the name of the original Oakwood Villa community. A special grant of 250 acres was requested in 1817 that allowed the construction of a dam across Strawberry Creek, which created a 150+/- acre mill pond. The mill was in operation by 1820, and the dam is now part of Arlington Road., The modern day Oakwood Villa/Woodland Acres community is bounded on the west by Silversmith Creek, on the north by the Arlington Expressway, on the east by Mill Creek Road and on the south by Atlantic Boulevard. In 1903 W. C. Warrington and his wife Bernice settled in Jacksonville and became successful real estate developers and builders of single family homes in the area. The first plat of Oakwood Villa was filed in 1910. The Warrington Chapel Community Church was built on property donated by Mr. W. C. Warrington and was renamed Woodland Acres Community Church in 1948 when it was chartered by the State of Florida. During the 1940s Mr. Everett Stancell began building single family homes and a large apartment complex in the community. In 1958 the six acre Warrington Park was dedicated to the community. Adjacent to the park is the Woodland Acres Elementary School built in 1955. A Health Immunization Center was built in 1974, a Senior Center built around 1980, along with tennis courts, picnic areas, a softball field, playground equipment and public swimming pool, giving the community the amenities desired for a healthy family life. , The community is home to a nursing home, a health and rehabilitation center, a low-income housing complex and in 1997 a park and building complex for the Boys and Girls Clubs of northeast Florida. Commerce continues on Atlantic Boulevard (Old Pablo Road) as it has for many years., (captions) , 1918 Arlington Map, Woodland Acres Community Church, ca 1933 , Charles A. Pilling Family Collection, Woodland Acres School , Jacksonville, Florida , 1957 - 1958 , Charles A. Pilling Family Collection