An estimated 50,000-acre land acquisition in southeast Duval County began with a search for pine trees. Patriarch of the Skinner family, Richard Green Skinner came to Jacksonville in 1899 looking for the raw materials to produce turpentine – sap from pine trees. From his initial purchase of approximately 16,000 acres, the family’s land holdings grew as Skinner purchased tract after tract of pines.
By the time he died six short years later, Skinner had accumulated the majority of the family’s land from what is now Beach Boulevard in the Pottsburg Creek area on the north boundary, south to St. Johns County, east past Florida 9A and west to Old St. Augustine Road. Roads now traversing the holdings include Philips Highway, Baymeadows Road, Butler Boulevard, Southside Boulevard, St. Johns Bluff Road and Kernan Road.
Richard Green Skinner died suddenly of pneumonia in 1905, and his wife died within a few weeks. Their seven sons, the oldest of whom was in his early 20s, managed to take over the business and hold on to the land in what was later described as the “Skinner miracle.”
In 1923, the brothers set up a company, Skinner Brothers Realty, to sell the land. In 1923, no one was buying Florida real estate. So the Skinners diversified. One farmed. One moved to Tampa where the family also owned land. Two brothers retained holdings of timberland, swamp and dune, land that would not be developed or have much value for decades. Through the Depression and hard times, the family managed to retain the land. And eventually, it paid off.
Donating land to build a school and construct roads eventually led to the movement of people and businesses to the area surrounding the University of North Florida.
The Skinner family name is associated with the communities and professional and retail centers that now define the area: Southpoint Office Park, Deerwood Golf and Country Club, St. Johns Town Center.
When A. Chester Skinner III (Chip) started a business in 1999, what better way to honor this venerable history than to name his company Skinner Bros. Realty. Today, he and his son, A. Chester Skinner IV (Chet), operate the company and carry on the traditions that started with a search for pine trees.