Join us for day 1 of 2 workshops in Pensacola, Florida!
Saint Michael’s Cemetery in Pensacola, Florida on Friday April 16th
Hosted by
The University of West Florida Archaeology Institute
&
St. Michael's Cemetery Foundation
St. Michael's Cemetery is an eight-acre green space in the heart of urban, historic Pensacola, Florida. It was probably in use by the mid to late 18th century. People of all faiths have traditionally been buried here. The cemetery is an open air museum that is a testament to the diverse history of Pensacola. It was dedicated as a state park in 1949.
Historical research and early maps indicate that the land in and around the modern cemetery was in use as a burying ground beginning in the mid to late 18th century. The earliest surviving above ground markers in St. Michael’s Cemetery, however, are associated with Pensacola’s Second Spanish Period (1781-1821). The cemetery is an open-air museum that is a testament to the diverse history of Pensacola.
Pensacola drew immigrants from around the world. The cemetery is the resting place of Captains of Industry, victims of Yellow Fever epidemics and steam ship explosions, along with those who died in child birth, as infants, and of old age.
There are approximately 3200 marked graves in the cemetery with subsurface anomalies possibly several thousand unmarked graves. Tombstones in the cemetery reflect not only status and ethnicity of individuals but also reflect society as a whole on the Florida Gulf Coast frontier. One has only to walk down the extant colonial road bed at the south end of the site to experience the strong sense of place and identity in the cemetery; a feeling of community.
Contact
For further questions or concerns regarding this event contact:
Margo Stringfield
mstringfield@uwf.edu