Introduction to Ezra's Pensacola

Ezra Gerry’s  adopted hometown of Pensacola was a changing city. From the late 19th century, Pensacola was a city suffering from a rash of fires, epidemics of yellow fever, and the implementation of Jim Crow laws following Reconstruction.

A series of fires struck Pensacola beginning December 11, 1880, when downtown was nearly destroyed. Devastating fires in the following years burned churches and stores, surrounding Gerry’s childhood and adolescence in flame until the last major fire on Halloween night in 1905. Repair and reconstruction following the fires required the business owners to rebuild their establishments. The city was rapidly burning to the ground and emerging larger and faster.

As a port city at the turn of the century, disease was rampant. Epidemics of yellow fever penetrated the city. Fever prompted cities across Florida to conduct controlled burnings of contagious neighborhoods.

The year 1905 saw the seemingly constant burning and the epidemic of yellow fever finally cease in Pensacola. While this would appear to be a year to celebrate the long-overdue peace in Pensacola, it was also the year that Jim Crow laws were passed and segregation of a previously integrated city began in earnest.

Although increasing racial hostility presented definite challenges to black Pensacolians, many people found ways to thrive through their involvement in religious and occupational activities. Pensacola was home to black professionals and business leaders. Even Booker T. Washington commented on the professional success of African-Americans in Pensacola.