Pensacola was the first settlement of Europeans in what is now the United States. Since Pensacola was destroyed and abandoned only two years after it was first founded, many people instead regard St. Augustine, Florida, as the first permanent European settlement in what would become the United States for this one kept continuosly inhabited ever since its founding. The City of Pensacola, however, still occasionally refers to the area as "America's First Settlement" in advertisements, signs and travel brochures.
The city and its bay were named after the Panzacola Indians, a tribe that lived near the bay when the Spanish arrived. The name was changed to Pensacola to make it easier to pronounce for the Spanish. Despite the original settlement's destruction, the name was preserved and used when the area was re-settled during the 17th Century. The area was first referred to as "Panzacola" in The French, who had established earlier settlements further west at Mobile and Biloxi, held Pensacola during this period.
Overall, French influences were generally dominant among the Creoles on the Gulf Coast west of Pensacola, with Spanish influences dominant among Creoles in the modern Panhandle. A hurricane drove the French from Pensacola in and the Spanish moved the town from the storm-vulnerable barrier island to the mainland. The French captured the settlement in and remained in control for three years. They burned the settlement upon their retreat in Population growth remained modest during this period, which was characterized by missionary work with Indians and the development of Pensacola as an important port and military outpost.
Conflict with French and British interests was common, although Spain's informal alliance with France meant that the greatest threat was from English pirates, smugglers and especially merchants, whose ability to sell goods more cheaply than Spanish companies diminished local support for the Bourbon monarchy in Madrid. It is during the British occupation that the area began to prosper. Pensacola was made the capital of British West Florida and the town was laid out in its current form around the Seville Square district by surveyor and engineer Elias Durnford.
At the end of the massive French and Indian War of , the British gained access to inland areas as far west as the Mississippi River and the French were expelled from the North American mainland. Louisiana was transferred from French to Spanish control.
The British colony of West Florida, with its capital at Pensacola, included all of the Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as well as southwestern Alabama, southern Mississippi, and the Florida parishes of modern Louisiana.
In , the British laid out Pensacola's modern street plan. This period included the major introduction of the slave-based cotton plantation economy and new settlement by Protestant Anglo-British-Americans and black slaves. British East Florida, with its capital at Saint Augustine, included the rest of modern Florida, including the eastern part of the Panhandle.
During the American Revolution , Georgia, including inland Alabama, revolted against the British crown, but East and West Florida, like the Canadian colonies, remained loyal to the British.
Many British Loyalists, or Tories, settled in Florida during this period. Like the French, the Spanish allied themselves with the American rebels. At the end of the war with the American victory over the British, East Florida was also transferred to Spain.
The Spanish now controlled the entire Gulf Coast and Mississippi River Valley, a region vital for shipment of American goods such as cotton, tobacco, and corn. This situation was not acceptable for the American Southern settlers of inland Alabama and Mississippi, who were rapidly expanding profitable cotton plantations and hoping to expel the remaining Indians from the entire region.
After the transfer of the vast Louisiana territory from France to Spain and the subsequent purchase of the region by the United States, Spanish East and West Florida were surrounded by American Southern states and territories. Anglo-American settlement of West Florida increased and the Spanish, busy with growing rebellions throughout Mexico and South America, were not able to focus on fortifying the region. The region was annexed into the new state of Louisiana in Augustine touts itself as being the oldest "continuously occupied" city in America.
Pensacola Beach is a short hop across the waterway and has some of the finest white sand beaches in Florida. There are many attractions and small towns within miles of Pensacola that are fun to visit on a day trip. Our Facebook page has more than , followers who love off the beaten path Florida: towns, tourist attractions, maps, lodging, food, festivals, scenic road trips, day trips, history, culture, nostalgia, and more.
We post articles every day. Please check it out and if you like it, we would appreciate a "like" from you. Florida Back Roads Travel is not affiliated with or endorsed by Backroads, a California-based tour operator which arranges and conducts travel programs throughout the world. Privacy Policy. Florida Back Roads Travel. Home Florida Towns Pensacola. Downtown Pensacola. Pensacola Harbor Scene. Pensacola Historic Village. Seville Quarter, Pensacola. By spring of , only a military outpost remained; in August, its handful of soldiers abandoned the site and returned to Mexico.
It wasn't until that Spain established another garrison in Pensacola, where soldiers began to lay out a colonial town. Over the next century, a succession of competing powers—French, Spanish, British, then Spanish once more—would plant their flags in Pensacola sand until, in , Spain ceded Florida to the United States. Today, a historic district of parks and plazas roughly 40 blocks square, shaded by old live oaks, reflects the city's diversity.
On streets that recall New Orleans' French Quarter, early and midth-century houses, constructed of brick or stucco and replete with intricate ironwork verandas and interior courtyards, reflect Spanish and Gallic influences. After succeeding the Spanish in , the British built cottages of traditional timber, clapboard and brick and laid down the street grid visible today. The heart of the old colonial downtown is Palafox Street, running through its center and now boasting a mix of trendy shops, restaurants and galleries.
The town's original wharf was at one end of Palafox, according to Tim Roberts, historic preservationist for the historic quarter. Pensacola's rich history has spawned a passion for the past. For more than 20 years, archaeologists from Pensacola's University of West Florida have conducted digs at several city sites. It's not only scientists who are at work: volunteers—locals and even tourists—can sign on to help for a day or a decade. Twice weekly, FPAN staff offer training in the processing of artifacts.
Says University of West Florida archaeologist Margo Stringfield, "With all this history we've yet to uncover, there's still a lot of work to do. At St. Michael's Cemetery, an eight-acre oasis of calm dotted by magnolia trees and crisscrossed by gravel paths, archaeologists are using ground-penetrating radar to map sites of the deepest, oldest graves, most of which are unmarked. The Spanish began conducting burials as early as the mids at the site, where, evidence suggests, colonialists and slaves lie side by side.
Because the cemetery is still in use, only limited excavations are allowed. Archaeologists, however, analyze artifacts as they surface—for example, during storms trees have been uprooted, revealing cannonballs and grapeshot. That is "one of the great things about living in a city this old," says Stringfield. In , the U. Navy constructed a new installation, the Pensacola Naval Aeronautical Station, on the grounds of a U.
President John Quincy Adams, recognizing the bay's strategic potential, had ordered the establishment of the shipyard in At any given time, some 12, active military personnel are assigned to today's Naval Air Station, 9, of them in aviation training. The ,square-foot complex, where one can stroll through a recreated World War I aviation camp or sit in the training cockpit of a Vietnam-era Sea Cobra helicopter, houses more than vintage aircraft.
It all came packed inside a single crate, complete with an engine and an inflation compressor.
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