Timeline of Pensacola history

Pensacola, Florida has had a rich and colorful history dating nearly 450 years, being the first settlement in the continental United States (1559) and controlled by five countries. Pensacola's location has caused great turmoil, with many buildings destroyed by wars, and by numerous major hurricanes. The location, south of the original British colonies, and as the dividing line between French Louisiana and Spanish Florida, along the Perdido River, has caused the possession of the city to change multiple times. Pensacola has been under the possession of the Spanish, French, British, United States and Confederate States, and has remained a part of the United States since the end of the American Civil War. Along with wars, numerous hurricanes have been a major factor in Pensacola history.

1500's

1515 -- Ponce de Leon 'discovered' Florida

1516 -- Miruelos MAY have entered Pensacola Bay

1525 -- Panfilo de Narveaz explored Florida

1539 -- Hernando de Soto explored Florida

1559 -- 06/11/1559 - Members of Luna's expedition embarked at Vera Cruz, Mexico, for their journey to establish Pensacola

1559 -- 08/14/1559 - Luna's expedition entered Pensacola Bay

1559 -- 08/19/1559 - A hurricane struck Pensacola Bay, virtually destroying Luna's fleet

1561 -- 03/16/1561 - Villafane arriveed at Pensacola for relief for Luna's expedition after the hurricane of 1559

1561 -- 04/09/1561 - Villifane became the governor of Florida

1565 -- St. Augustine, on Florida's East Coast, was founded by the Spanish

1600's

1682 -- 04/06/1682 - La Salle claimed Louisiana for France

1684 -- Sieur de la Salle descended the Mississippi River an made a failed attempt to establish a colony near the mouth of the Mississippi

1686 -- 02/06/1686 - An expedition under the command of Juan Enriques Barroto (Juan Jordan Reina) entered Pensacola Bay

1692 -- 06/26/1892 - Conde de Galve, viceroy of Mexico, was given instructions by the Spanish King to explore the gulf coast

1693 -- 04/07/1693 - Admiral Andres de Pez's expedition entered Pensacola Bay

1694 -- 06/13/1694 - The King of Spain (Charles II??) gave the go ahead to settle Pensacola

1698 -- 11/06/1698 - An expedition under Juan Jordan de Reina sailed from Havana, Cuba, to settle Pensacola

1698 -- 11/17/1698 - An expedition under the command of Juan Jordan Reina arrived at Pensacola

1698 -- 11/21/1698 - An expedition under the command of Andres de Arriola, arrived in Pensacola from Vera Cruz, Mexico

1700's

1702 -- French, under d'Iberville, founded Mobile, Biloxi, and Dauphin Island

1702 -- Spanish settlers at Pensacola suffered a severe epidemic, probably Yellow Fever

1704 -- Pensacola received its first women settlers

1707 -- Creek Indians, under the urging of the British, attacked and burned Spanish Pensacola

1707 -- Creek Indians laid siege to Fort San Carlos at Pensacola, but withdrew

1719 -- Spanish recaptured Pensacola

1719 -- 05/13/1719 - French from Mobile sailed to Pensacola in an attempt to capture the town

1719 -- 05/16/1719 - The French Fleet, under Jean Baptiste Le Moyne and his brother Sieur de Bienville, entered Pensacola Bay, fired on Fort San Carlos, and captured the Pensacola

1719 -- 09/18/1719 - French recaptured Pensacola

1720 -- France and Spain make peace.

1722 -- France burns Pensacola in a scorched earth policy. Spanish secure return of Pensacola from France and reoccupy, November 25. Spaniards build on Santa Rosa Island - the "Second Pensacola."

1723 -- Spanish built a village on Santa Rosa Island

1723 -- French left Pensacola

1743 -- The first timber export left Pensacola by the Havana Company

1753-1763 -- Spanish garrisoned at Pensacola

1754 -- Hurricane destroys the village of Pensacola on Santa Rosa Island. Survivors move to the mainland.

1757 -- 12/23/1757 - King Ferdinand VI(I?) issues royal orders naming settlement near San Miguel mission (near today's Seville Square), 'Presidio San Miqual de Panzacola' or Panzacola - the "Third Pensacola."

1760 -- A Hurricane struck Pensacola

1763 -- Spanish left Pensacola as a result of the Treaty of Ghent, which gave Florida to the British

1763 -- 02/10/1763 - The Spanish and British signed the Treaty of Paris, resulting in Spain ceding Florida to the British

1763 -- 07/10/1763 - Colonel Augustine Prevost sailed from Havana, Cuba with 4 ships & 350 men on their way to accept the transfer of Florida from Spain to Great Britain

1763 -- 08/05/1763 - Lieutenant Colonel Augustine Prevost arrived in Pensacola with 350 men to accept the transfer of Florida from Spain to Great Britian

1763 -- 08/06/1763 - Lieutenant Colonel Augustin Prevost and troops took command of Pensacola for the British

1763 -- 09/03/1763 - The Spanish left Pensacola

1764 -- First meeting of West Florida Council, November. Began by declaring all titles purchased from departing Spaniards void. Surveyor, Elias Durnford, prepares a plan for the city. Divides town into building and garden lots with the dviding line being present day Garden Street

1764 -- 10/21/1764 - George Johnstone arrived in Pensacola as West Florida's first British governor

1764 -- 11/24/1764 - The first council was convened by the British in Pensacola

1767 -- George Johnstone relieved as governor of West Florida and succeeded by Monfort Browne

1769 -- John Eliot arrived in Pensacola as the new governor

1769 -- 05/02/1769 - John Eliot, governor of West Florida, hanged himself

1769 -- 07/31/1769 - Elias Durnford named Lieutenant Governor as acting governor

1770 -- Peter Chester arrived in Pensacola as the new British governor

1770 -- Bernardo de Galvez appointed governor of Spanish Louisiana

1770 -- 08/10/1770 - Peter Chester arrived in Pensacola as governor of West Florida

1773-1774 -- Botanist William Bartram explores Florida across what is now known as the Batram Trail

1774 -- 10/24/1774 - Continental Congress wrote to the Assembly in Pensacola, but was suppressed by Governor Chester

1775-1783 -- Revolutionary War, Florida remains loyal to England

1777 -- 01/01/1777 - Don Bernardo Galvez became the acting Governor of Louisiana

1779 -- 06/21/1779 - Spain declared war on England (implications for Florida)

1780 -- Elias Durnford surrendered Mobile to Galvez

1780 -- 01/28/1780 - Bernardo de Galvez sailed from New Orleans in an abortive attempt to capture Pensacola

1781 -- The land that St. Michaels Cemetery occupies was designated a burying place.

1781 -- 02/28/1781 - Bernardo de Galvez sailed again from New Orleans with an invasion force headed for Pensacola

1781 -- 03/09/1781 - Bernardo de Galvez entered Pensacola Bay and lays siege to the British

1781 -- 05/07/1781 - Bernardo de Galvez began his siege of the British Fort George, located just north of Pensacola

1781 -- 05/08/1781 - British General John Campbell surrendered Pensacola to Bernardo de Galvez after a shot from the Spanish cannon (mortar) destroys the British powder magazine

1781 -- 05/09/1781 - British soldiers left their fort at Pensacola, officially ending the British presence in Florida

1783 -- Florida given to Spain by England in exchange for Bahamas and Gibraltar. Most British settlers leave.

1784 -- Spanish census of Pensacola. Population = 593 persons

1785 -- Panton, Leslie & John Forbes & Co. Trading Post in Pensacola is established

1792 -- Francisco Moreno was born in Pensacola

1794 -- 08/10/1794 - Jackson Morton was born

1795 -- Spain yields its claim to the northern part of West Florida . The United States and Spain signed the Pickney Treaty establishing the borders between the United States and Spanish Florida

1798 -- William H. Chase was born in Massachusetts

1800's

1801 -- William Panton, co-owner of Panton-Leslie & Company, died at sea

1803 -- Louisiana Purchase. Capital of Spanish West Florida moves from New Orleans to Pensacola.

1804 -- The Panton-Leslie & Company changed its name to John Forbes & Company

1805 -- Population = 1,398 persons

1807 -- The Inneraity family assumed control of John Forbes & Company

1808 -- Thomas William Brent was Born in Washington DC

1808 -- Pensacolians rename their principal streets and plazas in honor of their deceased monarch, Ferdinand VII, and the spirited Spanish resistance movement against Napoleon.

1810 -- Republic of West Florida proclaimed. Formal survey of St. Michaels Cemetery.

1810 -- Population = 1,000 persons

1812 -- Stephen Russell Mallory, future US Senator and Confederate Secretary of the Navy, was born in Trinidad

1812 -- War of 1812, United States declares war on England, June 18. United States annexed portions of West Florida to Louisiana and to the Mississippi Territory.

1813 -- General James Wilkinson and troops captured Mobile

1813 -- 08/30/1813 - Fort Mims Massacre

1814 -- 03/27/1814 - Andrew Jackson and his Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Creek Indians at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend

1814 -- 11/14/1814 - Andrew Jackson captured Pensacola and occupies it for the first time , November 7-9. He evicts British from the Spanish forts.

1815 -- 06/20/1815 - Angela Moreno (later Angela Moreno Mallory) is born

1816 -- 08/14/1816 - John Innerarity writes James Innerarity that they expect an attack on Pensacola real soon

1818 -- Andrew Jackson captured St Marks

1818 -- May 24, Andrew Jackson captured Pensacola again to end Spanish supply of arms to Indians.

1819 -- 02/22/1819 - Spain and the United States signed the Adams-Onis Treaty, giving the United States possession of Florida

1820 -- Spanish census of Pensacola. Population = 712 persons.

1821 -- Andrew Jackson leaves Pensacola

1821 -- 03/12/1821 - Andrew Jackson was given a commission by President James Monroe to oversee the transfer of Florida to the United States and became Florida's first American governor

1821 -- 07/17/1821 - The United States officially assumed control of Florida in a flag-exchange ceremony at Pensacola

1821 -- 07/17/1821 - Jose Cavalla, Spanish governor of Florida, officially turned over Florida to Andrew Jackson, representing the United States

1821 -- 08/18/1821 - ''The Floridian'' Newspaper, published by George Tunstall and Cary Nicholas, issued its first edition on August 18, 1821

1821 -- 10/03/1821 - A farewell party was given in honor of Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel at Austin's Tavern

1821 -- Florida organized into two (2) counties, Escambia (West Florida) and St. Johns (East Florida).

1822 -- Yellow Fever epidemic in Pensacola (forced the 1st Legislative council to move elsewhere) 237 people died

1822 -- 07/22/1822 - The 1st session of Florida's legislative council convened in Pensacola

1822 -- Florida organized as a territory. March 30.

1822 -- Jackson and Duval counties created, causing changes in Escambia and St.John's counties.

1822 -- 08/13/1822 - The Pensacola Board of Health reported yellow fever was present in Pensacola, which eventually killed 237 people

1824 -- 05/16/1824 - Edmund Kirby Smith, future Confederate General, was born in St. Augustine, Florida

1824 -- Pensacola Gazette and West Florida Advertiser first published, March 13th.

1824 -- City of Pensacola incorporated.

1824-1826 -- Road built from St. Augustine to Pensacola.

1825 -- Paul Rosasco, father of Albert T. and William Sebastian, was born in Genoa, Italy

1825 -- 11/04/1825 - A three-person board consisting of James Biddle, Lewis Warrington, and William Bainbridge, recommended the construction of a Navy Yard at Pensacola. Construction was authorized.

1826 -- 04/20/1826 - Commodore Lewis Warrington, United States Navy, assumed command of the Pensacola Navy Yard

1826 -- 10/27/1826 - Warrington's last day as commandant of the Pensacola Navy Yard

1826 -- 11/08/1826 - The navy issued its first contract to area businessmen for lumber to be used in the construction of the navy yard

1826 -- 12/20/1826, Pensacola Lighthouse first illuminated.

1827 -- The Naval Live Oaks Reservation was established on land previously owned by Henry M. Breckenridge

1827 -- 03/14/1827 - A labor strike commenced in Pensacola

1828 -- The towns of Warrington and Woolsey were constructed for the workmen who are working at the Pensacola Navy Yard

1830 -- 12/09/1830 - Joseph Forsyth transferred half his land holdings to Andrew and Ezekiel Simpson, and together the three men built a lumber mill

1830 -- Florida's first Federal census. Indian removal begins.

1831 -- Bank of Pensacola chartered

1832 -- Old Christ Church is Built in downtown Pensacola

1833 -- The first bank in Pensacola is organized

1834 -- Construction of Fort Pickens concluded

1837 -- Bank Panic hit Pensacola

1838 -- Stephen Russell Mallory married Angela Moreno, daughter of Francisco Moreno

1839 -- Construction of Fort Barrancas commenced

1842 -- Santa Rosa county created from Escambia county.

1843 -- Construction on Fort McRee commenced

1843 -- Jonathon Walker, was arrested on the coast of Florida, while attempting to run off with some slaves in a boat; was put in jail in Pensacola, tried, and sentenced to pay a fine and be branded with S.S. (slave stealer) in the palm of the hand.

1844 -- Construction of Fort Barrancas concluded

1845 -- 03/03/1845 -- Florida entered the Union as a State. Sections and townships laid out by the General Land Office.

1849 -- 03/04/1849 - Jackson Morton took his seat as a Whig in the United States Senate

1850 -- Stephen Russell Mallory was elected to the United States Senate

1851 -- 5/06/1851 - Dr. John Gorrie patented his ice-making machine

1852 -- Yellow Fever hit the Pensacola Area

1853 -- Yellow Fever epidemic struck Pensacola again

1855 -- Joseph Forsyth Died and his mill changed its name to Simpson & Company

1855 -- 03/03/1855 - Jackson Morton resigned his seat in the United States Senate

1856 -- 05/16/1856 - Construction began on the Alabama & Florida Railroad between Pensacola and Montgomery, Alabama

1856 -- 10/30/1856 - Major William H. Chase, who supervised the construction of the local forts, retired from military service

1857-1859 -- The USS Pensacola and USS Seminole were constructed at Pensacola

1858 -- 01/01/1858 - The Pensacola Lighthouse went into operation

1859 -- 06/25/1859 - The USS Seminole, built in Pensacola, was launched

1861 -- 01/05/1861 - Florida's secession Convention convened in Tallahassee

1861 -- 01/06/1861 - State troops seized the Federal arsenal at Apalachicola

1861 -- 1/07/1861 - State troops seized Fort Marion at St. Augustine

1861 -- 01/07/1861 - Adam Slemmer met with the command of the Navy Yard as to what action should be taken in case local citizens and/or militia tried to take possession of the Yard, or any of the forts

1861 -- 01/08/1861 - First shots of Civil War fired at Fort Barrancas. Col. William Chase authorized by Governor M. Perry to seize the forts at Pensacola.

1861 -- 01/10/1861 - Florida seceded from the Union

1861 -- 01/10/1861 - Adam Slemmer transferred his small artillery force from Fort Barrancas to Fort Pickens

1861 -- 01/12/1861 - State officials demanded the surrender of Fort Pickens

1861 -- 01/12/1861 - Troops from Alabama and Florida occupied the Pensacola Navy Yard

1861 -- 01/12/1861 - State troops seized the Pensacola Navy Yard, Fort McRee, Fort Barrancas, and Barrancas Barracks

1861 -- 01/15/1861 - State officials (Col. William H. Chase) again demanded Fort Pickens surrender. Fort Pickens never did surrender and was the only Union controlled fort in the south during the Civil War.

1861 -- 01/18/1861 - State Officials for a third time demanded the surrender of Fort Pickens

1861 -- 02/06/1861 - The USS Brooklyn arrived of Fort Pickens with reinforcements

1861 -- 3/11/1861 - General Braxton Bragg arrived in Pensacola and assumes command of all Confederate forces

1861 -- 04/12/1861 - Confederate Forces extinguished the Pensacola Lighthouse

1861 -- 04/12/1861 - US Troops aboard the USS Brooklyn landed and reinforced US Artillery troops at Fort Pickens

1861 -- 04/19/1861 - General Braxton Bragg declared marshal law in Pensacola

1861 -- 04/19/1861 - President Abraham Lincoln issued orders that all Southern Ports be blockaded

1861 -- 09/02/1861 - US Navy boats destroyed the Pensacola Navy Yard

1861 -- 09/14/1861 - Union troops from Fort Pickens boarded and set fire to the Confederate ship Judah

1861 -- 10/09/1861 - Battle of Santa Rosa Island

1861 -- 11/22/1861 - Artillery Duel between Fort Pickens and Confederate Batteries

1862 -- Confederates burned the mills and many of the homes around the Bagdad area as they abandoned Pensacola and the surrounding area

1862 -- 01/01/1862 - Artillery duel between Confederates and Union

1862 -- 05/09/1862 - Confederate Forces evacuate Pensacola

1862 -- 05/10/1862 - Acting Mayor Broshaham surrendered Pensacola to Union officials after the Confederates evacuated the town

1865 -- Florida formally surrendered to Federal forces, May 20. Civil War over in June.

1867 - Perry Home built by Danish-born Charles F. Boysen, currently the Scottish Rite Lodge (1922) at Palafox and Wright Streets.

1868 -- Reconstruction in Florida ended

1868 -- 03/28/1868 - The Pensacola & Louisville Railroad bought the Alabama & Florida Railroad, which had gone bankrupted after the Civil War, for $55,000

1868 -- 5/25/1868 - Florida readmitted to the Union

1870 -- Lumber boom begins.

1870 -- The Railroad finally connected Pensacola to the outside world

1872 -- Public school system established in Pensacola

1873 -- 11/09/1873 - Stephen R. Mallory died

1874 -- 11/20/1874 - Jackson Morton Died

1876 -- 8/10/1876 - First burial at St. Johns Cemetery

1876 -- 10/01/1876 - F. C. Brent and Louis P. Knowles founded the banking firm of Knowles & Brent

1880 - Pensacola is Florida's third largest city.

1880 -- 02/27/1880 - Louisville & Nashville RR bought the Pensacola Railroad

1880s -- Pensacola Gas Company founded

1881 -- 06/01/1881 - Construction on the Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad began

1881 -- 08/22/1881 - Construction began on railroad bridges over Pensacola Bay and the Choctahatchee and Apalachicola Rivers

1882 -- The Tarragona Street Depot was destroyed by fire

1882 -- Francisco Moreno died

1882 -- 08/15/1882 - The first passengers took a ride on the Pensacola & Atlantic RR

1882 -- 08/15/1882 - The first train carrying passengers crossed the railroad bridge over Pensacola Bay

1883 -- Opening of the Opera House, built by Daniel F. Sullivan.

1883 -- Saunders Fish Company formed by Thomas E Welles and Captain E. E. Saunders.

1883 -- 04/11/1883 - The Pensacola & Atlantic Railroad was completed between Pensacola and Jacksonville

1885 -- A new court house is completed.

1885 -- 05/20/1885 - Milton's business district burned. Fire may have started in the Mayer Bros store

1886 -- St Michael's Catholic Church was built

1886 -- Geronimo was brought to Pensacola as a prisoner

1888 -- A Presbyterian Church was built on Chase Street by Turner Construction Company

1888 -- Electric power company went online

1889 -- F. C. Brent helped organize the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce

1889 -- 09/16/1889 - The Pensacola Chamber of Commerce met for the first time (organized) and William Dudley Chipley became the 1st president

1890 -- Horse drawn streetcar system became operational

1890s -- Fires swept through Pensacola

1891 -- 6/17/1891 - Lee Square, formerly Florida Park, dedicated in memory of Jefferson Davis, Stephen R. Mallory, Edward A. Perry and the Confederate dead.

1892 -- John A. Merritt married the daughter of R. H. Turner

1892 -- 01/23/1892 - The First National Bank of Pensacola and the Brent's Bank merged

1895 -- Young Men's Business League of Pensacola founded

1897 -- Temple Beth-El built on Chase Street

1898 -- Spanish-American war erupted

1898 -- 03/21/1898 - Pensacola Electric Railway Company went into operation

c. 1898 -- William D. Chipley monument erected in Ferdinand Plaza. Chipley was several times mayor of Pensacola, founder of the Florida Chautauqua and Florida State Senator. The monument is inscribed, Soldier - Statesman - Public Benefactor.

1899 -- 6/20/1899 - Gun Powder at Fort Pickens exploded, destroying an entire bastion

1900's

1900 -- Baars, Dunwoody & Company established

1900 -- St. Anthony's Hospital established

1900 -- Pensacola Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company established

1900 -- American National Bank established

1900 - Alger-Sullivan Company begins operation in Century.

1901 -- Theisen Building built and named for Danish-born Chris Thiesen.

1902 -- Pensacola established its first streetcar system

1902 -- Pensacola Navy Yard received a dry dock

1904 -- William, Albert, and Peter Rosasco bought the Bay Point Mill Company

1905 -- The last yellow fever epidemic in Pensacola.

1905 -- 01/01/1905 - F. C. Brent retired as the president of the First National Bank

1905 -- 10/31/1905 - Fire erupted in downtown Pensacola destroying the Brent Block which included the Brent and Blount buildings as well as many other buildings.

1906 -- A Hurricane hit Pensacola, category #3, MS/ AL/ Pensacola - 134 dead.

1906 -- Dry dock at the Pensacola Navy Yard destroyed by a hurricane

1908 - New Pensacola City Hall built, current site of T. T. Wentworth Jr. Florida State Museum.

1910 - San Carlos Hotel opens.

1911 -- 10/20/1911 - The United States Government closed the Pensacola Navy Yard and it was abandoned

1913 -- 11/17/1913 - FDR arrived in Pensacola to announce plans to create a Naval Air Station at Pensacola

1914 -- 01/20/1914 - The first naval flight school was established at the Pensacola Navy Yard

1914 -- 2/2/1914 - Banks in Pensacola collapse

1914 -- 11/01/1914 - The firm of Crow, Rudolf & Company in Liverpool, England, went bankrupted. The First National Bank of Pensacola had put a lot of money into the company and lost a lot when it when belly up. It caused an economic depression in Pensacola.

1915 - Pensacola Hospital opens on 12th Avenue by Daughters of Charity (Sacred Heart Hospital).

1916 -- A Hurricane hit NW Florida destroying much of Pensacola and Milton.

1916 -- The Newport Company, a naval stores industry, was established in Pensacola

1917 -- A Hurricane hit Pensacola, destroying the Pensacola Opera House

1918 -- A Flu Epidemic struck Pensacola

1919 -- Serious influenza epidemic stricks Pensacola.

1920 -- Ten cases of bubonic plague epidemic in Pensacola which includes 6 deaths.

1921 -- The Newport company closed

1925 -- Saenger Theater built at current location on Palafox Street.

1926 -- WCOA AM radio went on the air

1926 -- A hurricane hit Pensacola, category #4, Miami/ MS/ AL/ Pensacola 134 dead.

1929 -- The Stock Market Crashed

1930 -- Warrington, a civilian community named for Capt. Lewis Warrington, moves from Naval Air Station to present site across Bayou Grande. H. Clay Armstrong produces the History of Escambia County.

1931 -- Bridges are built across Santa Rosa Sound and Pensacola Bay.

1936 -- Spearman Brewery opens.

1938 -- Pensacola's first public library opened for white residents of the community.

1939 -- 01/24/1939 - A post office was established in Gulf Breeze

1941 -- Pensacola Pulp & Paper Company opens, becomes St. Regis and then Champion International.

1941 -- 12/07/1941 - The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II

1948 -- Escambia General Hospital opens, becomes University Hospital.

1951 -- Baptist Hospital opens.

1961 -- 08/10/1961 - Gulf Breeze's first mayor and city council were officially sworn into office

1961 -- 08/17/1961 - The Gulf Breeze City Council held its first official meeting

1963 -- University of West Florida founded, opens in 1967.

1991 -- The Wall South Foundation, formed by the VVNF to oversee the building of "Wall South", reached an agreement with the city of Pensacola in January 1991 for a five and one half acre site on Bayfront Parkway. This is the home of Veterans Memorial Park/Wall South.

1995 -- 10/05/1995 - Hurricane Opal hit Pensacola

2004 -- 9/16/2004 - Hurricane Ivan made landfall on Orange Beach, AL. Hurricane Ivan caused an estimated US$13 billion (2004 US$) in damages to the United States, making it the fifth costliest hurricane ever to strike that country.