History Of Oceanway, Florida

History of Oceanway, the ideal place to live!
By Jamzee Ford                                  
All rights reserved.

Oceanway Farm:  "The Ideal Place to Live."  This slogan was at one time displayed on an old sign in the middle of Oceanway.  This was Doctor Gillespie's motto.  Dr. Gillespie played a big role in the development of this strong, honest, and hardworking community that grew together. For years no one cared to come to this rural area.  The only people who knew the secret of this sign's motto were the ones who lived here.  I will tell the story of Oceanway's History through their eyes.  There has never been much written about Oceanway, so my information comes from interviewing some of the people who have lived in the community their entire lives.  I am also one of those people, but I never realized how very little I actually knew about this special community until I started talking and listening to its soul, the life long residents.  From farmlands to an exploding community, I will try to make the story as accurate, serious, humorous, and detailed as possible.   And so the story begins.
The Name
Where did the community get its name?  All of the residents told similar stories when asked this question, "It is on the way to the Ocean."  Before Oceanway, it was referred to as Broward Station and Duval Station since these were the main two train conjunctions in the area. At one time, when there was no such thing as Interstate 95, 9A, or A1A, people had to pass through Oceanway whether going to Fernandina Beach or Jacksonville Beach. The Red Maple and the Bait and Tackle shop next door (corner of Oceanway Ave & New Berlin) became a common stop for fisherman, boaters, and people just visiting the beach, especially coming from Georgia and Nassau County.  This is where they would stop to stock up on supplies.  The rest of the story was told to me by Lyle Shiferdek, Sr., who has been a resident of Oceanway for 75 years.  Him and his longtime friend, Edgart Drury used to row a boat to get from Cedar Pointe to Little Talbot Island.  After A1A was built, the state took over the Islands.   He said that New Berlin was going to be a new highway that extended all the way to the Ocean.  New Berlin runs into Cedar Point, which goes for over 10 miles until it reaches the river at Timucua Preserve and boat ramp.  This is where a bridge was going to be built to cross the Intracoastal, however, it was discovered that it was impossible to construct a bridge at this location.  New Berlin now forks off at Cedar Point and runs into Hecksher Drive (used to be privately owned), which does lead to the Ocean.