History

Thanks to the research of longtime resident Mrs. Glenda Pace, we are able to provide the following brief history of River Gardens.

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Spanish Land Grants were issued in Florida as early as 1790. In 1825 President Andrew Jackson signed a grant to Joseph Noriega for 656.84 acres that was recorded in the West Florida Territory. In 1902, a township-range map of Pensacola indicated the position of the original Noriega Land Grant within Escambia County as: Section 2, Township 1S, Range 29, 30W. The University of West Florida now occupies a portion of that land grant, as does River Gardens and the area along Noriega Drive. 

 

From the late 1920's through the 1960's the property encompassing River Gardens changed hand many times. Documents from May 1926 indicate that A.G. Hudson and Olive G. Baars held one-half interest each of the Noriega Grant. By 1936, both families had sold their interests to the Woodland Development Corporation. Over the next 30 years, the land was sold in various parcels. Records show that by 1964, Alice Applegate, widow of Grady Applegate, sold what is now known as River Gardens to J. D. Godwin, who began the development of our lovely neighborhood.

 

If you are interested in learning more, Mrs. Pace has graciously allowed us to recreate her work in pdf form. This wonderfully informative document is here→ River Gardens History by Glenda Pace.