Snodgrass, Dena Elizabeth

Historian, economic researcher.

Dena Snodgrass was born March 25, 1906, in Thomasville, Georgia, and raised in Kissimmee, Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Science in History with a minor in Economics from Florida State College for Women (Florida State University) in 1929.

After a period of graduate study at George Washington University and New York University, she returned to Florida as a public school teacher and principal in Chipley, Lake City, Holopaw, and Orlando. From 1944 to 1971, she was employed in Jacksonville as Director of Economic Research for the Florida State Chamber of Commerce. Beginning in 1956, she served as a correspondent for the Kiplinger Letter.

She was a Past President and first woman president of the Florida Historical Society (1956), as well as a Past President and longtime Historian of the Jacksonville Historical Society. She was a charter member of the Historic Preservation Council of the Jacksonville-Duval Area Planning Board, and was appointed in 1971 as a charter member of the Jacksonville Historical and Cultural Conservation Commission (now the Historic Landmarks Commission).

A frequent publisher and speaker on Florida and Jacksonville history, she became known as the "First Lady of Jacksonville History." She also served as a member of the Florida Library Council and as a longtime member of the Advisory Council for state parks in Northeast Florida.

Historian, economic researcher. Dena Snodgrass was born March 25, 1906, in Thomasville, Georgia, and raised in Kissimmee, Florida. She earned a Bachelor of Science in History with a minor in Economics from Florida State College for Women (Florida State University) in 1929.

After a period of graduate study at George Washington University and New York University, she returned to Florida as a public school teacher and principal in Chipley, Lake City, Holopaw, and Orlando. From 1944 to 1971, she was employed in Jacksonville as Director of Economic Research for the Florida State Chamber of Commerce. Beginning in 1956, she served as a correspondent for the Kiplinger Letter.

She was a Past President and first woman president of the Florida Historical Society (1956), as well as a Past President and longtime Historian of the Jacksonville Historical Society. She was a charter member of the Historic Preservation Council of the Jacksonville-Duval Area Planning Board, and was appointed in 1971 as a charter member of the Jacksonville Historical and Cultural Conservation Commission (now the Historic Landmarks Commission).

A frequent publisher and speaker on Florida and Jacksonville history, she became known as the "First Lady of Jacksonville History." She also served as a member of the Florida Library Council and as a longtime member of the Advisory Council for state parks in Northeast Florida.