Chimney Park

Within walking distance from our house is Chimney Park.  The park is not very big, but it’s interesting.  In the 1850’s, the Pensacola area was full of saw mills and brick factories.  The area was growing plus the naval yards were thriving.  The Hyer-Knowles Planing Mill was built here using bricks from a local brick factory that used slaves.

 

In 1862, the Confederate army was leaving Pensacola to Union forces.  They were ordered to destroy anything that would help the Union, especially saw mills.  So, the equipment was put on a barge and the mill was burned down.  The night the mill was destroyed there was a big storm.  The barge with all the machinery sunk in the bay.  The largest thing left was this chimney from the steam plant.

The park has a very rough path to the side.  Several small sections of brick walls can be found among the plants.  Nice to have a historical place like this within walking distance.