St. Michael's Catholic Church (Pensacola, Fla.)

The first church dedicated to St. Michael was erected on Santa Rosa Island by Tristan de Luna y Aveliana when a colony was established in 1559. Since that time, church and colony have lived under five flags.

Under the Confederacy, the church located at Jefferson and Zarragossa streets was burned by Union soldiers, after allegedly having used it for quartering horses during the Civil War. A new wooden church was erected on East Government at Jefferson Street. Yet another fire caused its destruction during the yellow fever outbreak in 1882. The cornerstone for the present structure was laid at Palafox and Chase streets in 1885 and the church was formally dedicated in 1886. Most of the early records of the church have been lost to fire, plague, or storm since its inception.

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