JaxParks

Stockton Park is located along the St. Johns River, in the Ortega neighborhood (platted in 1909) of southwest Jacksonville. Originally named Ortega Park, it was expanded in 1965 when the City filled an acre of submerged land and built a bulkhead along its length. The park is named for John N. C. Stockton (1857-1922), president of the Ortega Company, the subdivision’s developer. Best remembered for his devoted public service, he worked distributing relief funds during the yellow fever epidemic of 1888, chaired the Board of Public Works in 1893 and after the Great Fire of 1901, and served in the Florida Legislature. Collaboration between area residents and the City led to a major improvement project in 2004-2005. When the newly designed park reopened in July 2005, it became a welcome addition to Old Ortega, which was designated a Historic District and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.