In 1559, Tristan de Luna arrived in Pensacola Bay with 500 Spanish soldiers.

The first settlement was abandoned due to diseases, disasters and hostile natives, but other Europeans followed.

[citation needed] Gulf Breeze's namesake was established in 1936 when the Gulf Breeze Cottages and Store opened a post office branch where Live Oaks Plaza now stands.

The Naval Live Oaks Reservation was the home of America's first experimental tree farm, established by President John Quincy Adams in 1828.

It was established to provide raw material to support shipbuilding for the Navy in the area.