Francis B. "Frank" Bonifay's law office stood here. Bonifay, a Pensacola native, was the first Probate Judge of Escambia County, Alabama, serving in 1869-1870 and again from 1870-1874 after Jesse Howard was elected in 1871, served briefly, and resigned. Pollard was the first seat of government. Escambia County was created on December 10, 1868, from the southern portion of Conecuh County and the eastern portion of Baldwin County through Act 34 of the Alabama Legislature, signed into law by Gov. William Hugh Smith, who served the State of Alabama from July 1868 until November 1870. The 1868 Acts appointed George P. Weaver, Joseph J. Jackson, and Thomas Jernigan to prepare for and hold an election to select county officials. The County Commissioners held their first meeting in Pollard on February 22, 1869, including Judge Bonifay, George P. Weaver, Samuel M.C. H. Parker, John Dixon, and E. H. J. Mobley. Bonifay worked for the Alabama & Florida and later the Louisville & Nashville Railroads, then moved back to Pensacola in the early 1880's, where he was later elected Probate Judge of Escambia County, Florida.