Although the French Huguenots led by Capt. Jean Ribault in 1562 laid claim to the First Coast area, it was the they who first settled the area around Jacksonville Beach, establishing missions from Mayport to St. Augustine.

The area was settled by river pilots and fishermen as early as 1831 when Mayport, then known as Hazard, was established as a port. The Mayport lighthouse was erected in 1859 and still stands at the Naval Station Mayport. By 1885 Mayport had 600 inhabitants, a post office and a school. The town was also visited daily by steamships which brought beach-goers from Jacksonville down the St. Johns River.

Meanwhile, a group of enterprising Jacksonville businessmen conceived the idea of a railway to the beaches east of Jacksonville. It was their plan to develop a summer resort to attract tourists to the Jacksonville area. The Jacksonville and Atlantic Railway Company was chartered in 1883 to build sixteen and a half miles of narrow gauge railway from South Jacksonville to the Ruby Beach settlement.

The company acquired many acres of choice oceanfront property which was divided into lots. By November 1884, Ruby was ready for the first buyers of the subdivided lots. About fifty prospective buyers arrived by excursion boats. In all, thirty-four lots were sold that day for a grand total of $7,514.

In 1884 William E. Scull, surveyor for the railroad, and his wife Eleanor, moved to the area now known as Jacksonville Beach. There were already several tent houses in the vicinity. The Sculls lived in one tent and ran the first general store from another. Later the Sculls applied for a post office under the name of Ruby, a name chosen in honor of their oldest daughter, and ran the post office from their store. Mail was delivered by boat once a week from Jacksonville.