[Wharf Scene, Jacksonville]

A handwritten note on the back of this image identifies the locale as Jacksonville, Florida, where the photographer, John S. Mitchell, was based. Situated on the left bank of the Saint Johns River, Jacksonville by the mid-1870s was the commercial metropolis of Florida and a thriving port. The black dockworkers who posed for this image were among the thousands of African Americans who were critical to the growth of the city's industries. They may have lived in nearby LaVilla, which became home to most blacks when it was established as an independent township in 1861. Known as the "Harlem of the South," LaVilla was annexed by Jacksonville in 1887, but remained a distinctly African American community.