The Jacksonville Humane Society serves as a resource to the community for all companion animal-related issues. JHS is funded by individual donations, wills and bequests, and money received from shelter service. We do not receive any state or federal funding, nor are we a United Way agency.
The Jacksonville Humane Society serves as a resource to the community for all companion animal-related issues. JHS is funded by individual donations, wills and bequests, and money received from shelter service. We do not receive any state or federal funding, nor are we a United Way agency.
The Jacksonville Humane Society was established in 1885 as the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). In 1920, the SPCA was reorganized as the Humane Society, when then Society President, Flora M. (Genth) Bowden and her husband, Richard Fleming Bowden donated 12 acres of land granted in perpetuity solely for the welfare of animals. The first shelter on this property was opened in 1924 as the Humane Society’s Rest Farm. The Society was renamed the Jacksonville Humane Society, Inc. in 1958, and in 1993 a facility addition increased capacity to approximately 400 animals, all on the original 12 acres of land. In October, 2005, the Society made the transition from an open admission shelter to a limited admission, no kill for space center. JHS would no longer euthanize an animal to make room for another.
