47 Fun Facts About Pensacola

Pensacola is widely known by which nickname?

Pensacola is the Cradle of Naval Aviation: NAS Pensacola has trained the Navy's aviators since 1914 and is home to the Blue Angels.

Which of these is NOT one of Pensacola's 'Five Flags'?

Mexico never ruled Pensacola; the five flags are Spain, France (1719–1722), Great Britain, the Confederacy and the United States.

Luna's 11-ship colonizing fleet sailed to Pensacola Bay from which port?

Luna's eleven ships sailed from Veracruz, Mexico, in June 1559; a hurricane that September wrecked most of the fleet, and the survivors abandoned the colony in 1561.

The Spanish returned to build a permanent fortified town at Pensacola in which year?

Spain founded the Presidio Santa María de Galve at Pensacola in November 1698, alarmed by French moves toward the Gulf coast after La Salle's expedition.

The name Pensacola comes from what?

The tribe's name was first recorded in 1677; the Bottle Creek mound site near Mobile was their ceremonial center.

Which explorer's 1539 expedition documented Pensacola Bay as the "Bay of Ochuse"?

Hernando de Soto's expedition charted Pensacola Bay as the Bay of Ochuse; his captain Diego Maldonado scouted it in the winter of 1539–40 as a supply rendezvous.

After Britain took over in 1763, Pensacola became the capital of which new British colony?

Britain split its 1763 gains into East Florida, ruled from St. Augustine, and West Florida, ruled from Pensacola; West Florida stayed loyal to the Crown through the Revolution.

Which Spanish commander captured Pensacola from the British in 1781?

Bernardo de Gálvez, governor of Spanish Louisiana, took Pensacola in May 1781 after a two-month siege; Galveston, Texas, is named for him.

Which 1819 treaty saw Spain recognize American control of Florida?

The Adams–Onís Treaty, signed in 1819 and ratified in 1821, transferred Florida from Spain to the United States; American troops had already seized Pensacola in 1814 and 1818.

Which future US president was Florida's provisional governor when Pensacola became American in 1821?

Andrew Jackson, the future seventh president, was Florida's first territorial governor and accepted the formal transfer from Spain in Pensacola on 17 July 1821.

Which Pensacola Bay fort, finished in 1834, stayed in Union hands throughout the Civil War?

Fort Pickens, built 1829–1834 on Santa Rosa Island, was held by Union troops from January 1861 to the war's end, while Confederates briefly occupied Forts Barrancas and McRee across the bay.

Which Apache leader was imprisoned in a Pensacola Bay fort beginning in October 1886?

Geronimo and his warriors arrived at Fort Pickens on 25 October 1886 after his surrender; they were moved to Mount Vernon Barracks, Alabama, in May 1888.

NAS Pensacola, established in 1914, holds what distinction?

NAS Pensacola, set up in January 1914 on the site of the closed Navy Yard, was the first naval air station the US Navy ever commissioned; its first flight came on 2 February 1914.

Which of these astronauts trained as a naval aviator at Pensacola?

Neil Armstrong began naval flight training at Pensacola in 1949 and earned his wings in 1950, flying 78 combat missions over Korea before joining NASA.

The Blue Angels, based at NAS Pensacola, were formed in which year?

The Blue Angels were formed on 24 April 1946 at NAS Jacksonville and flew their first show that June, making them the world's second-oldest formal aerobatic team.

Which street is the historic heart of downtown Pensacola?

Palafox Street, named for Spanish general José de Palafox, runs north from the bayfront through downtown Pensacola and anchors the city's historic core and festivals.

What is the IATA code of Pensacola International Airport?

Pensacola International Airport's IATA code is PNS; the city-owned airport serves the western Florida Panhandle and neighbouring Alabama counties.

How tall is the Pensacola Lighthouse tower, first lit on January 1, 1859?

The Pensacola Lighthouse tower rises 150 feet from a 40-foot bluff inside the naval air station, putting its light about 190 feet above sea level.

Which barrier island shelters Pensacola Bay from the Gulf?

Santa Rosa Island, a roughly 40-mile barrier island, shelters Pensacola Bay from the Gulf; Pensacola Beach and Fort Pickens both sit on it.

Perdido Key, the barrier island west of Pensacola Pass, has its western end in which state?

Perdido Key runs about 16 miles west from Pensacola Pass and crosses the state line, so its western end lies in Baldwin County, Alabama.

Gulf Islands National Seashore spans the barrier islands of Florida and which other state?

Gulf Islands National Seashore, authorized in January 1971, has a Florida district around Pensacola and a Mississippi district that includes Ship and Horn islands.

Which decommissioned aircraft carrier was sunk off Pensacola in 2006 as the world's largest artificial reef?

USS Oriskany, an Essex-class carrier nicknamed the 'Mighty O', was scuttled on 17 May 2006 about 22 miles southeast of Pensacola after two years of environmental cleanup.

Which hurricane hit Pensacola on September 16, 2004, wrecking the I-10 Escambia Bay Bridge?

Hurricane Ivan made landfall at Gulf Shores, Alabama, just west of Pensacola, as a Category 3 storm early on 16 September 2004, tearing sections off the I-10 Escambia Bay Bridge.

Which hurricane flooded downtown Pensacola in September 2020?

Hurricane Sally came ashore at Gulf Shores on 16 September 2020 as a Category 2 storm, dropping more than 20 inches of rain and pushing storm surge into downtown Pensacola.

The 2019 Pensacola Bay Bridge is dedicated to which local native, America's first Black four-star general?

The new Pensacola Bay Bridge is named for Daniel 'Chappie' James Jr., born in Pensacola in 1920, who in 1975 became America's first Black four-star general; it carries US 98 to Gulf Breeze.

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos became the Double-A affiliate of which MLB team in 2021?

The Blue Wahoos, who moved from Zebulon, North Carolina, in 2012 as the former Double-A Carolina Mudcats, switched from the Twins to the Miami Marlins as parent club for 2021.

The Pensacola Ice Flyers, who began play in 2009–10, compete in which hockey league?

The Southern Professional Hockey League team plays at the Pensacola Bay Center.

Which stock car race has been held at Pensacola's Five Flags Speedway every year since 1968?

The Snowball Derby, a 300-lap super late model race, has run on Five Flags Speedway's half-mile paved oval every year since 1968 and is a proving ground for future NASCAR drivers.

Which NFL running back grew up in Pensacola and starred at Escambia High School?

Emmitt Smith ran for 8,804 yards at Escambia High School, then starred at Florida before becoming the NFL's all-time leading rusher with the Dallas Cowboys.

Which Pensacola boxer, the 1990s Fighter of the Decade, made his pro debut in the city in 1989?

Roy Jones Jr. stopped Ricky Randall in two rounds in Pensacola on 6 May 1989 and went on to win world titles from middleweight to heavyweight.

Which future MSNBC host won Pensacola's congressional seat in a 1994 landslide?

Joe Scarborough, later host of MSNBC's Morning Joe, took the Pensacola-based 1st District in 1994 with about 62% of the vote against Vince Whibbs Jr., son of a popular former mayor.

Who served as Pensacola's African American mayor during Reconstruction?

Salvador T. Pons, a Black Republican, served as mayor of Pensacola in 1875–76, one of several African Americans elected to city office there during Reconstruction.

What sea creature is the official emblem of the University of West Florida?

The chambered nautilus is the University of West Florida's official emblem and appears in its seal; the Pensacola campus opened to students in fall 1967.

On New Year's Eve from 2008 to 2018, downtown Pensacola dropped what instead of a ball?

Pensacola's Pelican Drop lowered a lighted aluminum pelican over downtown at midnight from 2008; it was cancelled for 2019 over costs, while nearby Mobile drops a giant Moon Pie.

What is Pensacola Beach's landmark water tower painted to look like?

Pensacola Beach's water tower is painted as a giant striped beach ball, a landmark that doubles as the beach's unofficial logo on signs and souvenirs.

How far is Pensacola from Mobile?

Pensacola sits about 59 miles east of Mobile by Interstate 10, while Tallahassee, the state capital, lies about 196 miles to the east.

Gulf Breeze, across the bay from Pensacola, became famous in 1987 for sightings of what?

Gulf Breeze became famous for UFOs after local contractor Ed Walters published photographs of alleged craft in November 1987, drawing investigators and skeptics for years.

A retired steam locomotive from which railroad stands in the Garden Street median near its old station?

Frisco engine 1355 was donated to the city about 30 years after the railroad reached Pensacola's port in 1928.

Amtrak's Sunset Limited stopped serving Pensacola in 2005 because of damage from which hurricane?

Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 wrecked the Gulf Coast line, and Amtrak suspended the Sunset Limited east of New Orleans; the tri-weekly train had served Pensacola since 1993.

What form of city government has Pensacola used since 2011?

Voters approved the new charter in 2009; the seven-member council picks its own president.

In 1908, what event led to state militia occupying Pensacola and martial law being declared?

A citywide streetcar strike in spring 1908 turned violent after the company brought in strikebreakers, and Governor Napoleon Broward sent state militia to Pensacola under martial law.

Roughly how many people sailed with Tristan de Luna to Pensacola Bay in August 1559?

About 1,500 soldiers, settlers and servants sailed with Luna on eleven ships; a hurricane on 19 September 1559 sank six of them and the colony was abandoned by 1561.

Who was appointed the first British governor of West Florida at Pensacola in 1763?

George Johnstone, a Royal Navy captain, was named West Florida's first governor in 1763 and reached Pensacola in 1764; he feuded with the army commanders and left in 1767.

Which Spanish king's name is on the downtown plaza where Florida changed hands in 1821?

Plaza Ferdinand VII, named for the Spanish king reigning in 1821, is where Florida was formally transferred to the United States on 17 July 1821; it is a National Historic Landmark.

The Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad, completed in 1883, linked the city to which Florida town?

The Pensacola and Atlantic Railroad reached Chattahoochee (River Junction) in 1883, giving Pensacola its first rail link to the rest of Florida; it was built under Louisville and Nashville control.

What was Pensacola's population at the 2020 census?

The 2020 census counted 54,312 people in the city of Pensacola, while the two-county metropolitan area (Escambia and Santa Rosa) had 509,905.

Pensacola's coldest recorded temperature, on January 21, 1985, was what?

Pensacola's record low of 5 °F came on 21 January 1985 during a severe Arctic outbreak that also froze much of Florida's citrus crop.