Once called Punta del Diablo (Devil's Point), Gull Point is a small community just off of Scenic Highway on Escambia Bay.

Mariana Bonifay received the original Gull Point land grant from the Spanish king in the early 19th Century. As a building contractor involved in the brickmaking industry, Bonifay was one of Pensacola's first business-women from the late 18th to the early 19th Centuries.

Bonifay's son and business manager, Manuel Bonifay, planted orange groves throughout Gull Point. As Mariana Bonifay died without leaving explicit instructions on how to divide her land, the courts segmented and sold the land.

Juan de la Rua, mayor of Pensacola during the 1820s, purchased a portion of Gull Point and chose to reside there. Gull Point served as the location for the first Florida legislative meeting in 1822. According to local legend, the delegates, from Pensacola and St. Augustine, met under an oak tree in de la Rua's yard to decide on the territorial government's framework.

Local legend also holds that Andrew Jackson held a meeting at this same oak to accept Florida from Spain. This tree, which is standing today, is commonly referred to as Constitution Oak.

In the early 20th Century, the Pensacola Tar and Turpentine Company operated on Gull Point, until the company disbanded. The company's houses were rented out until 1946, when owner Sam Fletcher divided the land and sold the portions to individual families.

Narrative written by University of West Florida Public History Student Natasha Keyt.