The importance of expanding access to safe waters in communities of colour

"The water that flows into Pensacola Bay tells a story older than the state itself. Centuries before Pensacola became one of the largest cities in the Florida panhandle, it was a colonial-era settlement. Its western border was marked by Washerwoman's Creek, a freshwater spring named for the enslaved and Creole women who braved the marsh to wash clothes and gather drinking water."

"Now, a resurfaced stretch of Washerwoman's Creek runs along the eastern edge of Bruce Beach Park, a revitalised waterfront in downtown Pensacola. The new 10-acre coastal park sits adjacent to the historically Black neighbourhoods of The Tanyard and Belmont-Devilliers, and opened to the public in November 2024. Its opening marked the completion of a larger restoration project carried out by the City of Pensacola in collaboration with the University of West Florida Historic Trust."

Washerwoman's Creek was resurfaced along the eastern edge of Bruce Beach Park, creating a 10-acre waterfront park in downtown Pensacola that opened in November 2024. The park adjoins the historically Black neighborhoods of The Tanyard and Belmont-Devilliers. The $11.8 million restoration involved the City of Pensacola, University of West Florida Historic Trust, a local construction company, and two New York design and engineering firms. Features include a pedestrian bridge, playground, seating, trails, native plantings, and a kayak launch. Interpretive signs document Washerwoman's Creek and Bruce's Pool as a mid‑20th‑century center of Black life, and the project reconnects communities to the water.

Read at CN Traveller