Hyer-Knowles Planing Mill Chimney (ES01361)

3D Model

Located in Pensacola’s Chimney Park this structure is the only remaining feature of planning and sawmill operation once near Pensacola, Florida. The first mill located here was a steam-powered planing mill built by Henry Hyer around 1854. At this time, the local lumber boom had reached its peak. Though Hyer’s mill was destroyed during a Confederate raid in March, it was rebuilt after the end of the Civil War. Mill operations ceased in the 1920s, but the sole remaining brick chimney eventually became the centerpiece for a roadside restaurant and, eventually, a City of Pensacola park.

Due to a lack of interior stabilization, years of dense vegetation growth, and the effects of large storm events, the chimney’s structural integrity is compromised and represents the most vulnerable archaeological remnant of former mill operations.

This project was sponsored in part by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historic Resources, and the State of Florida.