Discover your Florida history through museums and archaeological sites in this unique
Geocaches have been hidden at several participating sites arcross Northwest Florida. All the sites on this geotrail are connected to Florida archaeology and are featured in the Road Trip Through Florida Archaeology exhibit at the Destination Archaeology Resource Center in
Pensacola, FL. The first 300 participants to locate at least 5 DARC geocaches will receive a traceable, special edition geocoin produced specifically for the DARC geotrail.
COLONIAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRAIL
You will be seeking a small black film canister. The clue to the code word is written on the backside of the log sheet. The correct answer to this clue is the code word for this cache. Be careful not to hurt yourself on the rose bush when reaching for the cache.
The Colonial Archaeological Trail, a project of the UWF Archaeology Institute and the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board (now West Florida Historic Preservation, Inc.), was conceived as an endeavor to expose hidden colonial archaeological remains in Pensacola and display them in present-day context. The primary goal of this project was to bring together historical and archaeological information to contribute to knowledge of the 18th-century colonization of Pensacola. Interpretive signs were designed to compliment the Pensacola Historic District and Historic Pensacola Village.
The outdoor trail exhibit behind the T. T. Wentworth Museum in downtown Pensacola. This scene shows the walkway over the exposed remains of the British Commanding Officer's garden and house which was within the Fort of Pensacola. |
Alligator skull found in a feature in the Officer's garden and house. |
Phase I of the Colonial Archaeological Trail occurred between1988 and 1989. The Florida Legislature and the Division of Historical Resources provided grant money for the project. In 1993 and 1994, Phase II of the Trail began when additional grant money was allocated to the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board and UWF to finish the rest of the Trail. Many students in the Archaeology Program at UWF (both graduate and undergraduate) and other volunteers excavated at the various British colonial sites along the trail including the quarters of the Officer's Room on the west side of the Fort of Pensacola in the southeast corner of Ferdinand Plaza and the Officer's garden and house behind the T.T.Wentworth Museum.
The Trail stretches from Ferdinand Plaza to Seville Square in downtown Pensacola and covers the area where the British Fort of Pensacola once stood. The partial reconstruction of Fort George, an advanced redoubt on a hill overlooking downtown Pensacola on what is now Palafox St., is also part of the trail. All of the trailside exhibits relate to features that were part of British Pensacola.
The T.T. Wentworth museum is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Tickets for Historic Pensacola Village may be purchased at the Tivoli High House Gift Shop, located at 205 E. Zaragoza Street in Downtown Pensacola.
- Adult Ticket - $6.00
- Child (ages 4-16) - $3.00
- Discount Ticket (Senior Citizens 65+, Active Military, AAA Member) - $5.00
The T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Florida State Museum and the Pensacola Historical Museum are open to the public for free. For questions, you may contact the Tivoli High House Store at 850-595-5993, the T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Museum at 850-595-5990, the Pensacola Historical Museum at 850-595-1559, or our administrative office at 850-595-5985.
Guided tours of our historic homes and buildings three times daily at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 2:30 p.m..