Did you know that the last execution held in Pensacola occurred at noon on July 30, 1920? The condemned man’s name was Hosea Poole who had been found guilty of brutally murdering his brother.

On a warm summer morning, Hosea walked to the wharf where his brother worked. Encountering his sibling, he calmly hacked him to death with an axe. Investigators quickly apprehended Hosea, and a jury found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to hang. Those in attendance at his execution reported that he admitted his guilt and accepted his punishment without complaint.

Authorities carried out the execution in gallows at the county jail and courthouse, which is today the Pensacola Cultural Center. The gallows have since been replaced by the stage for the Pensacola Little Theater, but stagehands claim to have seen the gaunt figure of a man lurking in the shadows of the building. Perhaps it is Hosea Poole, still not able to rest in peace after murdering his own brother in cold blood.

Credits and Sources:

UWF Historic Trust Archives