The Museum of Industry is part of the Historic Pensacola Village

Historic Pensacola Village

The Historic Pensacola Village is a collection of 22 historical buildings and museums owned and operated by the University of West Florida. The organization is largely based upon the donation of T.T. Wentworth's large historical collection to the state of Florida, and the establishment of an...

 complex in the Pensacola Historic District

Pensacola Historic District

The Pensacola Historic District is a U.S. historic district located in Pensacola, Florida. The district is roughly bounded by Bayfront Parkway, Tarragona, Romana and Cevallos Streets. Within the district are the Historic Pensacola Village, the T.T. Wentworth Jr...

. It describes in detail the main industries of early Pensacola

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

: fishing/ice, clay/brickmaking, lumber, and transportation.

The Building

Built in 1884 for the Pensacola Ice Company, the "Hispanic Building" was a long narrow brick structure with six arches facing Zaragoza Street. Earlier structures at this site served as British and Spanish barracks, a boarding house and, in the 1830s the home of the West Florida Academy. The present building has housed the New Orleans Grocery Company, the Levy-Hallmark Company and the Pensacola-Lurton Company, which leased it to the county for a surplus warehouse. It was acquired by the city in 1968 and is now an integral part of the Historic Pensacola Village.

Timber

Pensacola was a thickly wooded area, and the trees provided with lumber and lumber products (e.g., turpentine). Much of the equipment involved in processing timber is displayed on the west end of the building.

Brickmaking

Pensacola residents produced an amazing number of bricks. Many bricks from Pensacola can be found in the several forts in the area. The museum has a portion of a kiln

Kiln

A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, or oven, in which a controlled temperature regime is produced. Uses include the hardening, burning or drying of materials...

in the southeast corner.

Fishing

Fish were plentiful in early Pensacola, and the Museum of Industry houses an old boat from that era.

Railroad

Pensacola's deepwater port was excellent for transporting goods from sea to land. There is a port downtown to this day, although it is nowhere as busy as it was then.

External links

• Historic Pensacola Village's Official Website