Early History | Spanish Influence | Proposing a Lighthouse | The First Lighthouse | The Civil War | Natural Disasters | Archeological Summary | Lighthouse Keepers
Early History
Pensacola is the oldest European settlement in mainland America (1559), its 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 Pensacola to change ownership several times. Pensacola was Spanish, then French, then Spanish, then British, then Spanish again, before becoming American, then Confederate, and then the current U.S. city.
Early exploration of Pensacola Bay (called Polonza or Ochuse) spanned decades, with Ponce de León (1513), Pánfilo de Narváez (1528), and Hernando de Soto (1539) plus others charting the area. Due to prior exploration, the first settlement of Pensacola was large, landing on August 15, 1559 and led by Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano with over 1,400 people on 11 ships from Vera Cruz, Mexico. However, weeks later, the colony was decimated by a hurricane on September 19, 1559,which killed hundreds, sank 5 ships, grounded a caravel, and ruined supplies. The 1,000 survivors divided to relocate/resupply the settlement, but due to famine and attacks, the effort was abandoned in 1561. About 240 people sailed to Santa Elena (today's Parris Island, South Carolina), but another storm hit there, so they sailed to Cuba and scattered. The remaining 50 at Pensacola were taken back to Mexico, and the Viceroy's advisors concluded northwest Florida was too dangerous to settle, for 135 years
Early History Photos
Pensacola, Florida from a picture just after the period of Spanish influence
A view of Pensacola, in West Florida, circa 1820
Stephen Pleasonton, fifth auditor of the Treasury
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