Henry Hyer was born in Bavaria, Germany on September 13, 1792. In 1824, he married Julia Kopman in New York City. They moved to Pensacola about a year later, where they owned a house at the corner of Palafox and Intendencia.

Hyer had eleven children who married into the Knowles, Abercrombie, Thornton, and Whiting families.

Hyer owned many businesses throughout Pensacola, with the largest being one for the buying and selling of property. Hyer, along with his son-in-law, Peter Knowles, and his son, William, built the steam powered Hyer-Knowles Planing Mill.

The mill was destroyed by Confederate troops evacuating Pensacola in 1862 to prevent Union troops from making use of it. All that remains of the mill today is the brick chimney, which is the centerpiece of the city-owned "Chimney Park" on Scenic Highway.

In 1859, Hyer built a magnificent house at 20 West Belmont Street where the AT&T building now stands. Too old to fight during the Civil War, Hyer moved his family to Greenville, Alabama.

In his absence, his home was used to house the wives and children of Confederate soldiers, and was also used by Union troops as a barracks.

Hyer returned to Pensacola after the war, and died of natural causes on November 14, 1868. The cross that tops his textured marble marker is made from Connecticut brownstone in the form of two logs tied with rope.

Podcast written by University of West Florida Public History Student, Ricky Gomez.