Faces of Freedom:
Free People of Color of the Julee Cottage
The Julee Cottage provided a home for free people of color for over a century, but freedom looked different to each generation. The stories of the families who lived in this building expose the changing ideas about race and freedom during Pensacola’s history.
Free people of color were people of African descent who were born free or escaped slavery during the colonial to antebellum time periods. By the time Florida became a United States territory in 1821, Pensacola had a thriving multiracial population, many of whom were creole. “Creole” has been used in various ways over time, but along the Gulf Coast, the term generally referred to free people of color with both European and African ancestry.
Examine the primary sources below to learn more about the Julee Cottage and the free people who lived there.
Julee Cottage (on right) in 1927. Image courtesy of the UWF Historic Trust.
Constructing the Cottage
The Julee Cottage was built by Francis Hindenberg around 1805. He sold it to Julee Panton, a free woman of color and the building's namesake, in 1808. When addresses were assigned, the Julee Cottage property became 214 W. Zaragossa Street.
Who is Julee?
The Julee Cottage is named for one of its first owners, Julee (also listed in various documents as Julie, July, Judry, and Judith). Though there is no direct evidence, a number of documents (below) indicate Julee, a free woman of color, was formerly enslaved by Panton, Leslie, and Company (later Forbes Company).
Las Castas & The Cottage
New Spain’s “sistema de castas” (caste system) classified Pensacolians into racial groups, such as “Negros,” people of African ancestry, and “Mulattos,” those with a quarter or more of African blood. Spain was more liberal than other colonial powers in terms of racial relations, and though people of color residing in New Spain faced prejudice, they were afforded more opportunities than those living in other colonies.
It was during the Second Spanish period, in 1808, that Julee Panton, a chandler, baker, and free woman of color, acquired the Julee Cottage . In the decades that followed, it served as home to two formerly enslaved women: Angelica, from 1809-1819, and Rosalia Bonifay, from 1819-1824. In the Spanish colonies, women like Angelica and Rosalia were able to earn or purchase their freedom, providing a route for upward mobility.
Below are a few paintings of different "castas" classifications by by José Joaquín Magón (1751-1800). Courtesy of Museo Nacional de Antropología.
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"Free" People of Color
In 1819, Pensacola became part of the United States, bringing a new set of social norms. Laws passed in the Gulf Coast greatly limited the freedoms of free black and mulatto citizens. As early as 1829, a law threatened to sell any free black migrants in Florida Territory at auction for a term of 5 years. By 1845, every freedman of color had to pay a $3.00 tax (compared to the $0.50 tax paid by white and enslaved citizens,) and in 1848, the state passed a law requiring each free person of color to have a white guardian.
Flexible Spanish social norms were placed under a higher level of scrutiny and formerly acceptable practices, such as interracial relationships, were no longer tolerated by the government.
In 1844, Julee Cottage resident Juan Mall went to court for “living in sin” with Gertrude Sermacal, a free mulatress. A decade later, history repeated itself for Bartolome Borras and Carmelita Minagro (listed as "Ann" in the 1860 Federal Census, shown on the right).
Despite these challenges, Bartholomew and Carmelita had eight children and lived in the Julee Cottage until her death in 1864. When he died thirty years later, they were buried together at St. Michael's Cemetery in Pensacola (shown on right). The Julee Cottage remained in their family for the following century.
For more information about St. Michael's Cemetery, visit their website .
In 1887, Bartholomew Borras deeded the Julee Cottage to his daughter, Mary Borras Nicholas, for the price of "$5 and love," shown in the property deed on the right. She married Spanish fisherman John Reymous a few years later, in 1889. (Image courtesy of the Escambia County Clerk).
Jim Crow Came Knocking
Racial relations intensified throughout the Jim Crow era. Creoles and Mulattos, once part of a middle-status group, were lumped together with all non-white citizens as “colored.” The Pensacola City Directories were separated into “white” and “colored” sections during this time, illustrating the city’s emphasis on segregation. Some Creoles were able to take advantage of their light skin color, though this caused some divisions within the community.
John (shown in photo at right) and Mary Reymous and his wife and children lived at the Julee Cottage during this time. Records about the Reymous family illustrate changing ideas about race during this time period. At different times, records show their race as black, Creole, and white. (Image courtesy of Ancestry.com)
In 1907, the Pensacola City Directory was divided into two sections based on race. John was listed in the white section of the Pensacola Directory as John Raymos (shown at right).
Even though he lacked African ancestry, he was also listed in the colored section as John Ramous (indicated by the asterisk next to his name). As a bartender, Reymous may have been attempting to attract both black and white audiences, using his ambiguous race to his advantage.
The John and Mary's children lived in the Julee Cottage until 1970, when John Raymous Jr. passed away. The house was located on the edge of the Tanyard, a Creole neighborhood which was home to Pensacolians of mixed African and Spanish ancestry. (Shown on right in a 1907 photo at right from a 1985 Pensacola News Journal article about the Tanyard).
When John Ramous, Jr. died in 1970, his niece, Julia Soto Borras inherited the property. As a young girl, she lived in the Julee Cottage with her parents and siblings for at least a few years, shown in the 1920 census on the right.
Julia: The Next Chapter
The Reymous family lived in Julee Cottage until the early 1970s, when it was donated by Julia Soto Borras to be used as a museum. In 1977, it was moved to the Historic Pensacola Village, where it remains today. When restored in the 1980s, Marshall Emerson of the Historic Pensacola Preservation Board noted Julee Cottage was the first museum for black heritage in the state of Florida.
Before the Julee Cottage was moved to its current location, Leora Sutton of the Pensacola Historic Preservation Society conducted archaeological excavations of the site in the 1970s.
Sutton is pictured in this photo with the 1975 excavation crew for the Panton, Leslie & Company site. (Courtesy of the UWF Historic Trust)
The 1975 excavation crew for the Panton, Leslie & Company site, who may have also worked on the excavations at the Julee Cottage around the same time period. (Courtesy of the UWF Historic Trust)
The artifacts unearthed from these excavations provided more information about life in early Pensacola. Come visit us at the Destination Archaeology Resource Center in downtown Pensacola to learn more.
The Julee Cottage continues to stand after over two centuries, but many other historic places have been lost along the way. The buildings we choose to save determine the historic landscape of Pensacola and, in turn, dictate the stories we tell about our past. In 2016, the John Sunday Society formed in an effort to save a historic house once owned by a prominent African American leader of the same name. Though the structure was demolished, the group continues to advocate for the preservation of Pensacola history and for places like Julee Cottage that represent our city’s diverse past.
Today, Julee Cottage serves as a museum and is located in the Historic Pensacola Village. To plan your visit to the Julee Cottage, visit the Historic Pensacola website.
Image of the Julee Cottage courtesy of the UWF Historic Trust.
