St. Johns River Monster: 170 Years of Sightings

Posted on July 30, 2020 | 1 Comment

Click below for this week’s story, or navigate the city through the search bar or the direction buttons at the top of the page:

Supposed sightings of the St. Johns River Monster go back 170 years. It’s been called “Johnnie,” for the river, and the inexplicable “Borinkus.” Bounties have been offered, but the beast has never been shot, by gun or by camera. Sea monster legends do, however, connect to real world monstrosities, headlines of lynchings and the Klan. And no explanations satisfy those who say they’ve seen it.

This entry was posted in Uncategorized and tagged " Captain Adams Jacksonville, "Lucy and Nancy, Astor Chamber of Commerce, Astor Florida Chamber of Commerce, Barney Dillard, Bigfoot, Bobby Holt, Borinkus, Brenda Langley, Columbus mermaids, cryptozoology, D.B. Newbold, Dorothy Abram, Earl Boylston, Eddie St. John, Fuller Warren Bridge, Gilbert King, Godwin's Snake Village, Groveland Boys, Groveland Four, H.L. Walters, Harold J. Humm, Harry T. Moore, Homer J. Wright, J.W. Hunter, Jesse Hunter, John Baumgartner, Johnnie, Kathy Kirkland, KKK, Ku Klux Klan, Larry Atkinson, LaSalle Street, LaSalle Street Bulkhead, LaSalle Street San Marco, Loch Ness Monster, manatee, NAACP Florida, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Florida, Norma Padgett, Owen Godwin, Sammy Shepherd, San Marco Jacksonville, sea cows, Skunk Ape, St. Johns River Monster, Stockton Park Jacksonville, Thurgood Marshall, Tim Gilmore Florida, Verne Vandivier, Wallace McLean, Walter Irvin, Willis McCall. Bookmark the permalink.

One response to “St. Johns River Monster: 170 Years of Sightings”

Marv Kramer | August 10, 2020 at 2:39 pm |

What about the “Monster from the Black Lagoon,” that came ashore at the old Lobster House? I grew-up in the Granada area on the Southside, next door to the owner of the Lobster House, “Ducky” Glickstein. He was called “Ducky” because of the old, naval, amphibious “duck” that transported his downtown customers across the river for lunch, so that they wouldn’t have to use their automobiles.

Maybe we can discuss the book I’m working on, centered in Jacksonville, entitled “The Virus of Hatred.” It goes all the way back to 1948, when I had an “exclusive dinner” with Ed Ball and my father, in Ball’s private, Florida East Coast Railway, dining car.

Leave a ReplyCancel reply