Pensacola, in the late 1800's and early 1900's, was a major rail and seaport center for lumber distribution and drew immigrants from around the world seeking to make their fortunes. A visitor in 1884 described the harbor filled with ships from Russia, Denmark, Germany, England, France, Spain, Norway, Italy, and Australia. Many of these pioneers, of all religions and nationalities, are buried in St. Michael beside long-time Spanish Catholic residents.

Inscriptions on tombstones, many in Spanish, reveal those who died in child birth, who died in infancy, or after a long and productive life. The dreaded Yellow Fever epidemics also extracted a toll on the local population with nearly every family suffering the loss of a member. Among the graves of particular historical significance in this cemetery are those of:

• Dorothy Walton, wife of George Walton, a Georgia signer of the Declaration of Independence,
• Stephen Russell Mallory, United States Senator and Secretary of the Navy of the Confederate States of America,
• Spanish Consul Don Francisco Moreno and many of his 27 children, and
• Don Manuel Gonzalez at whose home, north of town, General Andrew Jackson and his wife Rachel awaited Spain's surrender of Pensacola to the United States.

The Priest's Mound, in the center of the cemetery, contains the graves of former priests and pastors of the area. Among them are:

• Rev. I. A. Bergrath (1836-1881),
• Rev. Joseph A. Ph. Fortier (1841-1937),
• Rev. Robert Fullerton (1853-1926),
• Rev. Charles E. Hartkoff (1867-1938), and
• Rev. Patrick J. Buckley (1892-1941).

Over the past 200 years, Saint Michael Cemetery, like many other urban cemeteries, has suffered from vandalism, neglect, and natural aging. With the added impact of hurricanes and war, the physical deterioration of such a large area in the center of town became a source of community embarrassment. In 1965, the cemetery was deeded to the City of Pensacola, and later the City deeded it to the State of Florida. Today, it is designated a State Park and is administered by a volunteer board. Recognizing the historical importance of the site, residents of Pensacola are supporting a major restoration project at the cemetery.

In June of 2000, St. Michael Cemetery was named an official project of Save America's Treasures, a public-private partnership between the White House Millennium Council and the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Save America's Treasures is dedicated to the preservation of our nation's irreplaceable historic and cultural treasures for future generations.

Geographers from the University of West Florida surveyed the cemetery using a Total Station (a precision surveying instrument). A map was constructed in a computer-based Geographic Information System (GIS) and a database, with ancillary information about the graves and photographs of the grave markers, was developed. The map and database are available to the public via the Web (see the UWF-GIS link at the end of this page) and in hard copy format. The Web-based map is interactive and information about a grave can be displayed by clicking the map. Currently, The Search for the Hidden People of St. Michael’s Cemetery, a joint project between the University of West Florida and the University of Mississippi, is attempting to identify unmarked burials in St. Michael’s Cemetery using ground penetrating radar (GPR), soil resistance measurements (SRM) and thermal imaging. These unmarked sites will be added to the GIS map.

While the cemetery will retain its original configuration, the site is undergoing a major restoration of existing walkways, historic plantings, and the addition of support buildings on the perimeter of the property.

This exciting project is having a positive effect on the urban environment of downtown Pensacola, and will provide a tranquil green zone for all its citizens and visitors. The restoration of Saint Michael Cemetery is an excellent example of preserving our past to benefit our future!

For more information about the cemetery, contact:

St. Michael's Cemetery Foundation of Pensacola, Inc. Post Office Box 13602; Pensacola, FL 32591 Phone: (850) 436-4643

Access the UWF GIS Interactive Map of St. Michael Cemetery .

We also invite you to visit the official St. Michael Cemetery Web site to download cemetery regulations. The cemetery is located downtown at the terminus of I-110, south of the Civic Center.