Historic Pensacola Village

I had the absolute pleasure of visiting the Pensacola Historic Village yesterday and I was so impressed with the quality and variety of the artifacts that were displayed in the buildings. The various buildings were well maintained and housed an interesting and varied array of furnishings and artifacts. I was particularly impressed by the number of items displayed in the Museum of Commerce and the Museum of Industry and I almost skipped going in to those buildings and I’m so glad that I didn’t as they were full of wonderful displays and tons of interesting items and facts! I truly was impressed by the countless items on display! It was so amazing!! I wish that I had timed it so that I could have attended one of the guided tours but we arrived a little late for that. If you attend one of the guided tours you gain access to some of the buildings that are otherwise locked, due to the items that are on display within the buildings. I would recommend that you check the times for the guided tours and plan accordingly as I’m sure they would be very informative. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at the historic village and I would highly recommend others to enjoy all that it has to offer!! There is so much information that one can learn from visiting!

Overall, we had a good time at the village. The buildings and grounds are very well maintained. There are many artifacts to see and brings back much nostalgia from visiting grandparents and great grandparents in my youth and seeing many things that were in their homes. The tour was informative and entertaining. Donna did a wonderful job with the tour. I was impressed with the signage on history of people who were enslaved. I was also impressed the tour started with conversations about Native America folk and the original inhabitants of the land. I was saddened that that is were their mentioned stopped. The rest of the tour focused on people of Spain, England, and France and zero mention of the indigenous people that thrived in the area before their arrival and continued existence. Even when asked directly how the Native Americans fit into the history of the area, it was acknowledged that they existed but were not part of the history. They were present and did their thing while the European counties fought, was the history communicated. With such close ties to UWF, I expected a much more inclusive portrayal of history than what was offered.

Always a fun stop! All of the buildings here are worth a visit, and the guides here are friendly and informative. You can buy tickets at the History Museum as well as the Art Museum. Getting tickets gives you seven days of access to everything here. Make time for the tour if you can. They are conducted every day they are open at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM. They usually tour the inside of some of the buildings, including the Old Christ church, the Lear House, and the Lavalle House. Donna did an excellent job telling us the stories and history of the area!

I've been several times, visiting Pensacola for the past three January's, and visiting this site each time. My first visit was the height of COVID, pre-vaccine, so many of the tours weren't offered. Spending a few months here last year and bought the ticket for the week. Loved the Julee Cottage, the museum of industry and commerce are very interesting as is the great Pensacola Museum of History (in 2021 this was the TT Wentworth). The guided tours of the Lear/Rocheblave and Lavalle houses are great as is the Old Christ Church. The guides and other UWF employees are helpful and friendly. This year the Dorr House was open for tours, too. Highly recommend. If you're lucky you'll get Gayle, a retired history teacher, as a guide and learn a lot! You can visit many of the buildings on your own, tours run twice a day. Discounts for AAA, seniors and military.

Fun look at the history of Pensacola. You need to take the tour as the self guided buildings are interesting but the 4 tour buildings are locked up and only available on the tour. Our guide was great, included many ghost stories, and answered all our questions. The staff at the kitchen were also great and explained Colonial cooking techniques as they prepare a dish but unfortunately are not allowed to share what they cooked with guests. Also enjoyed the Museum of History as it had an exhibit on Trader Jon’s bar and all of the his Blue Angels memorabilia.

Museum of industry was very interesting, we spent quite a while looking at all the sawmill machines. The other historical houses had some interesting history and displays. And our kids enjoyed making candles. The museum of commerce was not as interesting, but had some fun display items like the courting bike. Overall, the area is definitely worth visiting.

Okay! I truly enjoyed every minute spent in this area. We went to the Tivoli High House where we met an amazing attendant who sold us our very affordable tickets to visit many museums in the area. We didn't set aside enough time to do all the museums so we opted for Museum of History, Museum of Industry, the Julee Cottage (my fave) and Museum of Art. The village has several properties open to the public. As you visit, you will learn and see a variety of styles and time periods. There is a very rich history here and it all tells of a great story of slavery, freedom, industrial revolution and so much more. We will definitely be returning to see more of the village.