Digging History in Pensacola
Written By Diane Lacey Allen
Flags of five different nations may have flown over downtown Pensacola, but it was recently the unmistaken territory of busy archaeologists.
In a continuing effort to dig up history on this area, the University of West Florida turned land behind the T.T. Wentworth, Jr., Florida State Museum into an active excavation site.
Expanding research on a Colonial commanding officer's compound, the downtown field-training project was a visitor-friendly undertaking continuing the school's dedication to public archaeology. Visitors were not only welcome to watch UWF graduate and undergraduate students at work, but encouraged to participate in the process.
Although you couldn't actually get in the trenches, visitors were able to help with what is called "rough sorting" through the beginning of August, 2005. What was great about this initial phase is that by virtue of the proximity to the dig and your task, visitors could become one of the first to discover an historical find – such as the double-barrel well the dig uncovered that dates back to the Spanish colonial period. Archaeologists are currently sifting through their finds to see what other rarities can be revealed.
Pensacola, after all, is one of the oldest National Register Historic Districts – a city that dates to 1559 – and the community's rich heritage goes deeper than a few inches of topsoil.
The Pensacola area is the product of many influences, having been home to Spanish sailors, French Creole settlers, British soldiers, Confederates and modern-day residents. But thanks to preservation efforts, Pensacola's past can be covered on foot via the Colonial Archaeological Trail.
The trail is set off in downtown by metal markers that identify the remains of structures, a commanding officer's trash pit as well as remnants of an outdoor oven and British fort.
If you have questions, stop by the Tivoli House in the Historic Pensacola Village. The village is another downtown walking exhibit that explains Pensacola's history through buildings and practical artifacts.
Important to this educational cluster of varying architecture is the T.T. Wentworth, Jr., Florida State Museum. It was built in 1907 and is the former Pensacola City Hall.
The museum is known for its Renaissance Revival design, rotating exhibits and children's Discovery section. This June, it will look at meteorological history with a presentation that contrasts and compares Hurricane Ivan and an unnamed 1926 storm. A display on the African American press in Pensacola is another new exhibit opening in July.
Historic Pensacola Village also features the Museum of Industry, which demonstrates the importance lumber once played in this area. The Museum of Commerce, meanwhile, shows how early vendors sold everything from hardware to bakery items with realistic storefronts.
The Julee Cottage, an 1805 building, is devoted to the memory of the "free woman of color" who lived there. That independent spirit continues as you stroll from the village to the Seville Quarter's restaurant and nightclub complex.
Pensacola's past is also well represented at the University of West Florida Archaeological Institute's Museum, which is on the school's campus. The museum's artifacts come from shipwrecks and Colonial times and cover everything from cannons to ceramics.
Flags of five different nations may have flown over downtown Pensacola, but it was recently the unmistaken territory of busy archaeologists.
In a continuing effort to dig up history on this area, the University of West Florida turned land behind the T.T. Wentworth, Jr., Florida State Museum into an active excavation site.
Expanding research on a Colonial commanding officer's compound, the downtown field-training project was a visitor-friendly undertaking continuing the school's dedication to public archaeology. Visitors were not only welcome to watch UWF graduate and undergraduate students at work, but encouraged to participate in the process.
Although you couldn't actually get in the trenches, visitors were able to help with what is called "rough sorting" through the beginning of August, 2005. What was great about this initial phase is that by virtue of the proximity to the dig and your task, visitors could become one of the first to discover an historical find – such as the double-barrel well the dig uncovered that dates back to the Spanish colonial period. Archaeologists are currently sifting through their finds to see what other rarities can be revealed.
Pensacola, after all, is one of the oldest National Register Historic Districts – a city that dates to 1559 – and the community's rich heritage goes deeper than a few inches of topsoil.
The Pensacola area is the product of many influences, having been home to Spanish sailors, French Creole settlers, British soldiers, Confederates and modern-day residents. But thanks to preservation efforts, Pensacola's past can be covered on foot via the Colonial Archaeological Trail.
The trail is set off in downtown by metal markers that identify the remains of structures, a commanding officer's trash pit as well as remnants of an outdoor oven and British fort.
If you have questions, stop by the Tivoli House in the Historic Pensacola Village. The village is another downtown walking exhibit that explains Pensacola's history through buildings and practical artifacts.
Important to this educational cluster of varying architecture is the T.T. Wentworth, Jr., Florida State Museum. It was built in 1907 and is the former Pensacola City Hall.
The museum is known for its Renaissance Revival design, rotating exhibits and children's Discovery section. This June, it will look at meteorological history with a presentation that contrasts and compares Hurricane Ivan and an unnamed 1926 storm. A display on the African American press in Pensacola is another new exhibit opening in July.
Historic Pensacola Village also features the Museum of Industry, which demonstrates the importance lumber once played in this area. The Museum of Commerce, meanwhile, shows how early vendors sold everything from hardware to bakery items with realistic storefronts.
The Julee Cottage, an 1805 building, is devoted to the memory of the "free woman of color" who lived there. That independent spirit continues as you stroll from the village to the Seville Quarter's restaurant and nightclub complex.
Pensacola's past is also well represented at the University of West Florida Archaeological Institute's Museum, which is on the school's campus. The museum's artifacts come from shipwrecks and Colonial times and cover everything from cannons to ceramics.
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