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.
