The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1906-03-04
Pensacola the OLDEST
Settlement in America.


ST. Augustine evidently feels some
What piqueI at the idea Of Pensacola's
claim as the oldest settlement in
America. and Editor Lewis w. Zim Of
the st. Augustine Meteor rushes to the
defense of the east coast city in the
following very entertaining editorial:
In our last issue We copied an arti.
Gle from The Pensacola Journal, in
which our brilliant contemporary took
the position that our hustling sister
over on the west coast had passed
the stage Of mOdssty as to age, and
wanted to pass as being older than
her ancient sister. Fss, fie, brother.
Don't you recollect that Juan Ponce
de Leon strOlled over here from Porto
Rico in 1912, on that Fountain Of
Youth errand. that he reached here on
Easter Sunday and named the terri
! tory Floriaa, in commemoratiOn Of the
natal day of our Savior? Then in 1864
Rene de LOrdonniere, with his little
fleet Of three French vessels, came
nOsing around on Ponce's back track,
and, later, (1565) Pedro MenendeZ,
craving a desire to see the EldoradO
Of the new world, cast anchor here in
our harbor on the 2Sth of Augustine
festival of st. Augustine-and christ
ened the spot after the great saintE
Now, our whilom historian would say
! that because Don Tristan De Luna or
Pantilo de Narvez got off their course
and, possibly, storm beseiged, drifted
around on the west coast, that they
were looking for the great harbor of
! Pensacola. Well now. it's a little sin
/ gular that the discovery of such a
magnificent hRrbor was not given
more concern, and that the matter
! should be passed by until away along
here within six years of the four hun
! dredth anniversary of the landing OF
T.! Ponce, when an anti-deluvian should
/ rouse up and say that that was a gay
ola time he and the Spaniards had
! fghtin' Inguns in the early 1888
I around and about Pensacola!
i Why. bless your soul, Bro. Mayes,
we have houses here that are older
than Pensacola, and they are good,
serviceable structures at that. Mr.. j
4 P. Dodges oldest House." computed
by historians to be upwards of three
| hundred years old, is filed with relics
j that Ponce de Leon would doubtless
lay claim to could he put in an appear
J. ance to-day. Then there is Judge j..
1 w. Henderson's residence antique
house that would make Pensacolians
grow green with envy to pass through
its various passagewayS and hear the
the Judge dilate upon the rare furnish
II ings that date from the time of Col
umbus up to the birth of our Juvenile
sister. Yes, and "Whitney's Oldest
}, House in u. S." would make you think
you were a spring chicken-eSpeciall
when Mr.. Everett c. Whitney got
i through telling of the stories that its
walls could unfold if they would only
speak out.
Just step over this way, brother,
and we will show you around the An
cient City and make you feel sorry
that the idea ever struck you that
/ Pensacola was in the land of the liv-
ing when st. Augustine was born. We
know that we are old, and are not
ashamed of it either. Just say
'Scuse me sister, and all will be for
given.
We know how st. Augustine must
feel at the thought of having to sur
render title as the oldest American
settlement. but we don't think even
that is sufficient for Lewis Zim's refer
ence to us as anti-deluvian and we
hereby 0eny the impeachment.
But getting down to the matter of the
respective ages of the two towns, let
us see what there is to st. Augustine's
claims. The settlement was made, as
our contemporary says and as all his
torians agree. in 1865. There is no
dispute On that score and we accept
that date as being the correct one.
Now then, let us see when the first
settlement on Pensacola Bay was
made. Richard L. Campbell, whose
Historical Sketches Of Colonial Flor
ida" constitute our most reliable ref
erence in such matters, says: (ChaD.
II, Page 49,.
In 1856, the yiceroy Of Mexico, and
the bishop of Cuba united in a memo
rial to the Emperor Charles ", repre-
senting Florida as an inviting field
for conquest and religious work. I'm
perial sanction having been secured
an expedition was organized under
the command of Don Tristram ole Luna
to effect the triple objects of bringing
gold into the emperors treasury, ex-
tending his dominiOns, and enlarging
the bounds Of the spiritual kingdom
by winning souls to the church. For
the first two enterprises one thousand
FIVE hundred soldiers were provided,
and for the last host of ecclesiastics.
friars, and other spiritual teachers,
Puerta d Anchusi afterwards named