Donors | West Nassau Historical Society | West Nassau Museum of History

Honoring Our Donors, Sponsors and Contributors

CSX Transportation: In the mid-1980s, CSX Transportation was born out of the convergence of several railroad lines establishing its headquarters in Jacksonville, Florida. Shortly thereafter,with the cooperation of several entities, the West Nassau Historical Society received four major contributions from CSXT. A portion of the original roadbed (approximately 1 acre), $5000 in cash, the historic 1881 depot and a caboose were transferred over to the historical society. These were the seeds that jumpstarted our society into what it is today. A great deal of gratitude is extended to CSX for these gifts.

Rayonier Corporation: Rayonier owns, leases or manages nearly 2.4 million acres of timber and land in nine U.S. states and New Zealand; and sell timber for use in a wide variety of markets, including pulp, paper, lumber and other wood products. In 1938 they purchased large swaths of timberland in Nassau County, Florida and at present own nearly 30 percent of the county. They built their first paper mill in Fernandina in 1939 and their eastern forest products center is now located there. Rayonier’s employees team up each year with United Way of Northeast Florida and the Rayonier Foundation to donate money to area nonprofits, scholarship funds and charitable groups. The West Nassau Historical Society has been fortunate to receive grant monies from Rayonier the past two years to purchase museum lighting for the depot and computer software and storage equipment for the new research archives. The Historical Society is always appreciative of Rayonier’s generosity and is looking forward to working with the timber giant in the future.

Town of Callahan: The Town of Callahan is celebrating its 100th anniversary of their Charter in 2011, although the community began in 1841 with the founding of Sharon Baptist Church. Mayor Shirley Graham and the Town Council have been very kind to the Historical Society and help them with various things throughout the year. The Town helps with the stringing of the lights on the Christmas tree and helps with the mowing of the rail bed before Railroad Days. The Town also sponsors the kids’ area during the two day festival as well as picks up the tab for the sanitation facilities. The Historical Society looks forward to working with the Town in upcoming festivals and events.

Nassau County Commission: Carved from Duval County in 1824, Nassau County consists of 726 square miles of pine forests, swampy marshes and sandy beaches. Its location in the northeast corner of Florida, adjacent to both the Atlantic Ocean and the State of Georgia, makes Nassau an ideal entry point into the State. For years both pioneers and pirates, citizens and soldiers have stepped foot on Nassau's soil, both bringing and creating our County's history. The Nassau Board of County Commissioners, both past and present have been very kind and supportive of the West Nassau Historical Society through proclamations and monetary support. The Historical Society is very appreciated of the Commissioners' generosity and is looking forward to working with the Board on future history projects as Nassau moves closer to its bicentennial in 2024.

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