Elias Durnford

Elias Durnford
6th Governor of British West Florida
In office Nov 1769 – 10 Aug 1770
Preceded by	John Eliot
Succeeded by	Peter Chester
Personal details
Born	13 June 1739 Ringwood, Hampshire, England
Died	21 June 1794 Tobago
Profession	Officer military and Governor

Elias Durnford (13 June 1739 – 21 June 1794) was a British army officer and civil engineer who is best known for surveying the town of Pensacola and laying out a city plan based on two public places (now the Plaza Ferdinand VII and the Seville Square).

Between 1769 and 1778 he was Lieutenant Governor of British West Florida and by 1794 Colonel Durnford was Chief Royal Engineer of the West Indies.

Elias Durnford was born in Ringwood, Hampshire, England on 13 June 1739.

Durnford served as an Ensign in the British army Corps of Royal Engineers, having signed up on 17 March 1759. In the Seven Years' War he participated in the Capture of Belle Île, France, 1761 and was also at the Battle of Havana (1762). After the Cuban action Lord Albemarle made him an Aide-de-camp. Durnford became an accomplished artist while on the Cuban campaign and engravings made from his sketches are highly valued.

After the Seven Years' War Durnford was posted to the newly established British colony of West Florida, where he was appointed chief engineer and surveyor general. To supplement his small salary he was paid for land surveying and as the colony was being divided into land grants he profited greatly from this arrangement.

Durnford laid out the city plan for Pensacola after arriving there in 1764. His plan for the city was classic in nature, centered on two squares, one for government and one for military drill and public affairs. Streets were all surveyed at right angles named after royal family members and government representatives. He included in the housing plan gardening plots on the north side of the city along Garden Street,

...
Wikipedia