Gov. Ron DeSantis, his new appointees to the University of West Florida Board of Trustees and Interim President Manny Diaz don’t know Pensacola’s history.
From Emma Jones to Memorial Day: How a fictional woman and two brave men created a decades-long tradition that transformed Pensacola into the “Gay Riviera”
Every Memorial Day weekend, thousands of LGBTQ+ visitors descend upon a remote stretch of Pensacola Beach for what has become one of the South’s most enduring gay tourism traditions. However, the story behind these gatherings reveals a remarkable tale of ingenuity, community, and resilience that spans over 70 years.
- In 2013, Inweekly dug into how that weekend became such a deal. The story began with a woman who never existed.
The Mysterious Emma Jones
Emma Jones wasn’t real, but she was revolutionary. In the 1950s, when being gay could cost you your job, your family, and even your freedom, this fictional woman became a lifeline for Pensacola’s underground LGBTQ+ community.
- Emma was the brainchild of Ray and Henry Hillyer, a couple who had moved to Pensacola from Texas in the early 1950s after Ray’s Air Force service at Hurlburt Field. Ray worked as an artist for St. Regis Paper Company, while Henry designed displays for Gayfers Department Store. Both were deeply involved in local theater and cultural organizations—respected members of the community who happened to be living a secret.
In those days, gay publications were under FBI surveillance, and the Hillyers learned that the local post office was keeping lists of men who received these materials, sharing names with police for harassment campaigns. Their solution was brilliantly simple: they created a post office box under the fictitious name Emma Jones.
- “Once a month, their lady friend from New Orleans would come over and check the box, and they would all meet at the guys’ house and share the materials,” recalls local attorney Joshua Jones, who interviewed the Hillyers in 2008. This became the foundation of the Emma Jones Society (EJS)—Pensacola’s first organized gay community.
Read “Queer and Here: The Long History of Gay Tourists on Pensacola Beach.”