About the Project
The Belmont-DeVilliers project began in fall 2017, when a group of students from Dr. Wells’ Digital History course met with their client, Robin Reshard, of the Kukua Institute, to discuss her vision for researching this historic African-American Pensacola community. Ms. Reshard expressed an interest in the team compiling data that reflected the residents and businesses located on the four blocks at the intersection of Belmont and DeVilliers Streets, known as The Blocks, during the years spanning from 1885 to 1940. The team then got to work creating a data set using available state and federal census records from that 55-year time period.
Once the team finished compiling and refining the entries, they were able to utilize the information to answer the research question, “How did the business and resident demographics change on The Blocks between the years 1885-1940?” The team also queried the data to answer questions about the neighborhood’s property use and residents’ occupations and birthplace.
This data set provides the foundation for continued research into the people, places, and events of the Belmont-DeVilliers community. Historical research of this underrepresented community provides a critical piece of Pensacola’s history.
Meet the Team
Lina Bahrom is a student of the University of West Florida, beginning her Public History Master of Arts program in 2017. In 2015, she received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Tennessee in History and Asian Studies. Her research interests include Islamic history, Asian art, and religious studies.
Cassie Brown graduated from Berry College in 2014 with a Bachelor’s Degree in History. She joined the Public History Master of Arts program at the University of West Florida in 2016. Her main research interests include local and public history.
Jonathan Price joined the Early American History Master’s program at the University of West Florida in 2017, where he also received a bachelor of science in business administration. He also runs a small furniture making business and researches African American furniture builders in the nineteenth century.
Cassandra Sadler graduated from the University of Rhode Island in 2014 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and continued her education earning a graduate certificate in Geographic Information Science from the University of Delaware in 2015. Cassandra is currently working towards her Masters in Historical Archaeology at the University of West Florida. Her research interests include historical maritime studies, human behavior and response in historical disaster events, and the American Revolution.
Joyce Southard holds a bachelor’s degree in Education, where she has worked as an academic advisor at the University of West Florida since 2001. She is currently a graduate student in the Public History Master of Arts program at the University of West Florida. She volunteers with Voices of Pensacola. Her research interests include Southern history, Florida History, New Deal programs, and local music history.
Bibliography
1893-1894 Jones’ Pensacola Directory; University of West Florida Historic Trust. Archives. University of West Florida, Pensacola. 1894.
Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. NARA microfilm publication T626, ED 28. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. 1930.
Maloney Directory Co., comp. Maloney’s Pensacola 1898 City Directory. Atlanta, GA: Maloney Directory Co. 1898.
McGovern, James Robert. The Emergence of a City in the Modern South: Pensacola 1900-1945.(DeLeon Springs, FL: Painter, 1976).
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- L. Polk & Co. Polk’s Pensacola City Directory 1940. Jacksonville, FL: R L Polk & Co., Publishers. 1940
Reshard, Robin. Belmont-Devilliers Neighbor-hood: The Making of a Neighborhood. Directed by Robin Reshard. 2012. Pensacola: Robert Robino Productions, 2012. DVD.
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. Sanborn Map Company, 1903
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. Sanborn Map Company, 1907
Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. Sanborn Map Company, 1930
Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. NARA microfilm publication T627 586, ED 17-47. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. 1940.
Tenth Census of the State of Florida, 1935. Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. Microfilm series S5, 30 reels, Record Group 001021. Tallahassee, Florida: State Library and Archives of Florida. 1935.
Thirteenth Census of the United States: 1910 Population. Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. NARA microfilm publication T624, ED 17. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d. 1910.
Twelfth Census of the United States: 1900 Population. Pensacola, Escambia County, Florida. Microfilm reel 169, ED 27. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of the Census Microfilm Laboratory, 1978.
Webb, Wanton S., comp. Webb’s Pensacola Directory: 1885-1886. New York: W. S. Webb & Co., Publishers. 1885.
Webb, Wanton S., comp. Webb’s Pensacola Directory: 1890-1891. New York: W. S. Webb & Co., Publishers. 1890.