An historic place where serenity expands

North Florida Coast

Located on the lovely Amelia Island, just north of Jacksonville, American Beach is a historic beach with deep roots and an extensive African American history.

Abraham Lincoln Lewis

The beach was founded by Abraham Lincoln Lewis, a business luminary who was Florida’s first black millionaire to benefit his African American workers during the Jim Crow era, a time where blacks were not allowed to swim at most of the Jacksonville Beaches.

The Beach’s Incipient Past

Abraham Lincoln Lewis originally wanted to provide a great vacation spot for working families at his company, American Beach quickly became a cultural icon for black families in Florida. The beach continued to attract a wide range of visitors throughout the 1950’s, and outstanding restaurants, hotels and nightclubs were soon built at American Beach.