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Pensacola, Florida is the seat of Escambia County.
Pensacola is a
city located in extreme northwestern Florida, on Pensacola Bay (an arm of
the Gulf of Mexico); incorporated 1822. It is a commercial, manufacturing,
and military center, with a fine deepwater harbor (protected by Santa Rosa
Island).
The site of Pensacola, which was briefly
inhabited (1559-61) by Spaniards, was permanently settled by the Spanish in
1698. It was held (1719-22) by the French, was then returned to Spanish
control, and passed to the British in 1763. It once more became a Spanish
possession in 1783. The city served as the capital of British, then Spanish,
West Florida and was used by the British as a base during the War of 1812.
In 1814 it was captured for the United States by Andrew Jackson, who seized
it again in 1818 after it had been returned to Spain. Pensacola formally
passed to the U.S. in 1821 with the rest of Florida. During the American
Civil War, Union forces gained control (1862) of the city. The main economic
growth of Pensacola began in the late 19th century and accelerated in the
early 20th century. The city's name is probably of Native American origin,
possibly meaning "long-haired people."
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