Historic Pensacola, Florida.
Presidio San Miguel de Panzacola was located in present-day downtown Pensacola, Florida. The Spanish erected a small blockhouse here in the 1740s. Some survivors of the hurricane that destroyed Presidio Isla Santa Rosa Punta de Siguenza took refuge in Fort San Miguel on the mainland in 1752. They decided to expand the small blockhouse into a new stockaded presidio. It took until 1756 to finalize the plan. Construction on the new Presidio began in August 1757 and progressed rapidly because of a threat from the local Tallapoosa Indians. A double stockade, some 700 feet long, enclosed the Presidio, with 21 cannons and several buildings, including the brick governor’s house, soldiers’ barracks, and houses, a warehouse, a church, and a hospital. A village surrounded the stockade and housed officers, married soldiers, and civilians. In 1761, the Presidio’s population swelled to over 900 people.
After the French and Indian War, Spain ceded Florida to England. The British arrived in Pensacola in August 1763 and took possession of the Presidio. The Spanish Commandant and almost 800 people then sailed to other Spanish territories. The British occupied the old presidio, calling it Fort Pensacola, and began a series of failed attempts to make it habitable. During this time, the pronunciation changed to “Pensacola.”
Today, some ruins remain between Plaza Ferdinand VII and Seville Square in downtown Pensacola. The ruins are a mix of Spanish and British-era buildings.
©Kathy Alexander/Legends of America, updated September 2026.
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