The Italian-American Club of today was officially founded in 1951, but its roots as a social club celebrating arts, family, tradition, music and food — everything Italian — actually go back to the early 1920s.

The original club, founded by a small group of immigrants, disbanded pretty quickly, but the American Italian Club of Jacksonville was founded in 1935 and consisted mostly of first generation Americans. During World War II, the club was again disbanded, but once the war was over, the present day club made its debut via formal charter.