300 block N Palafox, east side
Marker #12
Governor Perry House (Historic Marker)
First Methodist Church of Pensacola (Historic Marker)
Galvez Monument (Historic Marker)
Governor Perry House
In 1867, this house was built for Danish sea captain Charles F. Boysen. It was constructed using materials from wrecked buildings along Palafox Street and featured a cupola so that Boysen could see the bay. The 1870 census listed Boysen as the Norwegian Vice-Consul, and during his tenure, the home served as a Consulate of Sweden and Norway. By the 1880s, Boysen was unable to keep up with the home's mortgage, and the property was sold. In 1882, it was acquired for $9,000 by Edward Aylesworth Perry, who served as Governor of Florida from 1885-1889. Perry and his family expanded the house and occupied it until 1900. Ownership changed hands multiple times until 1922, when it was purchased by James Simpson Reese on behalf of the Scottish Rite Building Association. The house was converted into a Scottish Rite lodge, and in 1959, a two-story annex was added on the northern side. In 1983, the house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a contributing building in the North Hill Preservation District. In 2008, First United Methodist Church of Pensacola, founded in 1821 and the oldest Methodist congregation in Florida, purchased the property to expand its ministries.
FIRST METHODIST CHURCH OF PENSACOLA
Established as a mission by the Mississippi Methodist Conference December 7, 1821., Reverend Alexander Talley, was the first pastor. The first, second, and third, church buildings located at the northeast corner of Tarragona and Intendencia Streets
The fourth church building occupied in 1884, was located at the corner of Garden and Palafox, where the U. S. Court House now stands. The fifth and present home of the First Methodist Church had the cornerstone laid October 14, 1908. The first service was October 30, 1910.
The building is an excellent example of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, having an exterior covered in Pennsylvania brownstone. The sanctuary seats 600 and has one of the largest pipe organs in Pensacola.
Pictured | First Methodist Church of Pensacola, 1963, UWF Historic Trust
On March 18, 1781, Bernardo de Gálvez led the naval charge into the well-defended Pensacola Bay, a feat of daring that would earn him a royal patent adding the words “Yo Solo” (“I alone”) to his coat-of-arms.
His forces landed near Bayou Chico and began a steady advance towards the city’s defenses, which included Fort George on Gage Hill (Palafox Street) and its two advance redoubts. After weeks of siege, a Spanish mortar detonated the powder magazine at the Queen’s Redoubt on May 8, devastating the British fortification. Gálvez accepted the surrender of British Governor John Campbell and claimed West Florida for Spain.
By taking Pensacola, Gálvez stripped Britain of a key foothold on the Gulf Coast, which in turn benefited the American Colonists in their quest for independence. For this reason, Gálvez has been recognized by Congress as a hero of the Revolutionary War who risked his life for the freedom of the United States people and provided supplies, intelligence, and strong military support to the war effort.
