Pensacola's Historical and Archaeological Timeline
| 1513 | Ponce de León credited with discovering and naming Florida |
| 1528 | Narváez lands near Tampa and proceeds to Apalache |
| 1539 | Hernando de Soto lands in Tampa Bay and winters near Tallahassee |
| 1540 | Captain Diego de Maldonado visits Pensacola Bay |
| 1559 | Don Tristán de Luna y Arellano leads
an expedition fleet of 11 ships and 1,500 colonists to Pensacola Bay. Five
weeks after their arrival, a hurricane destroys as many as seven ships (http://www.flheritage.com/archaeology/projects/shipwrecks/emanuelpoint/) |
| 1693 | Carlos de Siquenza y Gongora and Andres de Arriola map Pensacola Bay and recommend settlement |
| 1696 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol is built prior to January 15 |
| 1697 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol convoys flotas to the Windward Channel, via Havana, and delivers annual subsidies to the Windward Islands, Cuba and St. Augustine. |
| 1698 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol returns to Veracruz |
| 1698 | Presidio Santa Maria de Galve established in
Pensacola (http://uwf.edu/archaeology/projects/colonial/presidio/presido.html) |
| 1698 | Andres de Arriola establishs Presidio de Santa Maria Galve at the site of the present-day Naval Air Station, Pensacola |
| 1699 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol involved in the Spanish effort to dislodge Scots from Darien (Panama) |
| 1702 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol stationed in Cartagena |
| 1703 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol overhauled and repaired in Veracruz (600 tons) |
| 1704 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol involved with escort duties for flota |
| 1705 | Nuestra Senora del Rosario y Santiago Apostol sinks in Pensacola Bay |
| 1719 | French troops capture Presidio Santa Maria de Galve |
| 1722 | Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa established on Santa
Rosa Island (http://uwf.edu/anthropology/research/2003fieldwork.cfm) |
| 1743 | Dominc Serres illustrates Presidio Isla Santa Rosa |
| 1752 | Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa destroyed by hurricane |
| 1752 | A hurricane destroys the barrier island presidio forcing the Spanish to relocate on the mainland. They begin by erecting a blockhouse and mission in what is today downtown Pensacola. This site has been documented during excavations by the University of West Florida. |
| 1757 | The site of this third Spanish presidio is officially named after the Native American word "Panzacola" which means "place of the long-haired people." |
| 1763 | Florida ceded to England by Spain |
| 1763 | British take possession of Florida from the Spanish at the conclusion of the French and Indian War |
| 1781 | Bernardo de Galvez takes Pensacola back for the Spanish in the Battle of Pensacola. |
| 1781 | H.M.S. Mentor lost in Blackwater River (see James A. Servies, ed., The Log of H.M.S. Mentor, 1780-1891: A New Account of the British Navy at Pensacola). |
| 1783 | Florida ceded to Spain by England |
| 1813 | British occupy Pensacola (http://uwf.edu/anthropology/research/fort.cfm) |
| 1817 | Arcadia, a water-powered industrial complex
built (http://uwf.edu/anthropology/research/arcadia.cfm) |
| 1821 | Florida becomes U.S. Territory |
| 1824 | Pensacola connected to St. Augustine by road
(http://user.gru.net/leinart/bellamyroad.htm) |
| 1828 | Naval live oak preserve established (http://www.nps.gov/guis/extended/home.htm) |
| 1845 | Florida becomes a state |
| 1855 | Arcadia Mill burnt |
| 1861 | Florida secedes from the Union |
| 1861 | William H. Judah, Confederate schooner lost
September 14, 1861 (http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/bar/uap/legacy/shipwreck.html) |
| 1863 | Union ship Preble burns and sinks in Pensacola
Bay (http://hub.dataline.net.au/~tfoen/preble.htm) |
| 1882 | English bark Rhoda sinks in Pensacola Bay |
| 1894 | Norwegian lumber ship Catharine grounds off
Pensacola Beach (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0306473895/isbndb-20/1036404028-5590232?creative=327641&camp=14573&link_code=as) |
| 1906 | Hurricane destroys much of the fishing fleet
at Palafox Pier (http://www.eglin.af.mil/weather/hurricanes/history.html) |
| 1914 | Pensacola Naval Air Station established |
| 1916 | Another major hurricane strikes ships docked in Pensacola |
| 1921 | USS Massachusetts scuttled in Pensacola Pass |
| 1926 | The third major hurricane of the 20th century strikes Pensacola |
| 1989 | UWF excavates Deadman's Island Shipwreck (http://uwf.edu/archaeology/projects/uw/deadmans/deadmans.htm) |
| 1990 | Architectural remnants near the main gate of the British fort (1763-1781), stockade lines and wall trenches of the later Spanish fort (1781-1821), and the first complete architectural foundation of an early Spanish period building (1752 - 1763) uncovered in downtown Pensacola |
| 1990 | Pensacola Shipwreck Survey conducted by Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research (BAR). More than fifty wrecked or abandoned vessels were documented. |
| 1992 | Emanuel Point Ship discovered http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/ep/ |
| 1992 | Santa Rosa Island Shipwreck site designated as 8ES1905 by Florida Bureau of Archaeological Research |
| 1993 | USS Massachusetts designated as fourth Florida
Underwater Archaeological Preserve (http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/archaeology/underwater/preserves/uwmass.cfm) |
| 1993 | Colonial Archaeological Trail opens (http://uwf.edu/archaeology/public/archtrail.cfm) |
| 1995 | UWF begins five-year study of Presidio Santa Maria de Galve |
| 1995 | Hurricanes Erin and Opal strike near Pensacola |
| 1995 | UWF records newly uncovered spud barge on Pensacola
Beach, the "Opal Wreck." (http://uwf.edu/archaeology/projects/uw/pcolabch/opalship.htm) |
| 1997 | UWF and BAR conduct final season of investigations on the Emanuel Point Ship |
| 1998 | UWF enters Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with US Navy to continue shipwreck survey of Pensacola Bay. |
| 1998 | UWF documents the Catharine. |
| 1998 | UWF relocates the Santa Rosa Island Shipwreck and conducts preliminary survey. |
| 1999 | UWF continues investigation of the Santa Rosa Island Shipwreck with the excavation of the vessel's bow |
| 2000 | UWF investigates Hamilton=s shipwreck, c. 1920, and the English bark Rhoda |
| 2000 | UWF continues excavation of Plaza Ferdinand in downtown Pensacola |
| 2001 | UWF continues investigation of the Santa Rosa Island Shipwreck with the excavation of the vessel's centerline structure |
| 2001 | UWF begins survey of the Snapper Wreck near Bagdad, Florida |
| 2002 | UWF concludes third season of fieldwork on the Santa Rosa Island Shipwreck |
| 2003 | UWF investigates the remains of four coastal schooner barges in Blackwater Bay, Palafox, Dinty Moore, George T. Locke and Guanacaste |
| 2004 | UWF begins second season of investigation of the Blackwater Bay wrecks; two more wrecks are discovered |
| 2005 | UWF conducts remote sensing survey along Pensacola's downtown waterfront. An additional wreck is discovered in Blackwater Bay |
| 2005 | UWF continues excavation of British Commanding Officers Compound in downtown Pensacola. |