First Pensacola

The Spanish Presidio Santa Maria de Galve stood here from 1698 to 1719 as the first permanent settlement in Pensacola and only the second successful permanent settlement in Florida. It was founded in 1698 by Captain Juan Jordan de Reina and Governor Anfres de Arriola with a force of 357 people. The settlement’s largest feature was a large square wooden fort with walls 300 feet long and large diamond-shaped bastions on each corner. Just east of the fort stood a church and a cemetery, and farther east was a small village where the Spanish and Indians lived until 1707. After that, the entire community of up to 500 people had to live inside the fort for protection, and many facilities were built there, including living quarters, a cistern, a hospital, bake ovens, offices, guardhouses, and a garden area. Poorly manned and supplied, the settlement survived under almost constant attacks by Indians allied with the British until the French took it by force in 1719 and burned the fort. The Spanish rebuilt in 1723 on Santa Rosa Island across the bay. Lost for 300 years, the site was rediscovered between 1995 and 1998 by archeologists from the University of West Florida, who found that much of the settlement still survives below ground, and the fort, cemetery, and village were located and preserved, with only a sample of the remains taken for study.

Warrington, Florida · United States