Dr. James S. Herron was a notable local physician in the Pensacola area. He was born in Chambersburg, Virginia in 1828 and raised in Richmond. His father James served in the US Navy and was stationed at the Navy Yard in Pensacola in 1850. Young James attended Spring Hill College in Mobile then returned to Pensacola as an engineer at the Navy Yard. But his real passion was medicine so he attended the University of Pennsylvania where he obtained his medical degree in 1861. He returned to Pensacola to practice but the clouds of war prevented those plans for him. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted as a Confederate doctor stationed in Warrington. His brother Charles R. (1824-1924) enlisted in Company "H", Alabama 3rd Cavalry Regiment. When Pensacola was abandoned in 1862, James was sent to the military hospital in Montgomery. He later was transferred to Hilliard’s Legion who fought in both the western and eastern theater of the war. Paroled in May 1865, he returned to Pensacola three years later. Upon his return, he was appointed a surgeon at the Marine Hospital at Ft. Barrancas.
In 1874, he converted the old Innerarity House at Barcelona and Main Street, into a hospital since Pensacola lacked appropriate medical facilities. He was instrumental in fighting the Yellow Fever epidemic at the Navy Yard in 1873 and again in 1875. Ironically, his brother Charles attended Jefferson Medical School in Philadelphia and obtained his medical degree in 1879. By 1885, James and his mother Fannie were living together in their home at Palafox and Belmont Street. But in 1889, he began building a beautiful home at the corner of Palafox and Jackson Street that would be forever be known as the “Herron House.” He bought the eight lots in 1874, but held them fifteen years before building. The grandiose home was built above some of the old ruins of Fort George built in 1781 by the British. It was located near what became known as “North Hill,” that was centered around two of the most influential Pensacola businessmen of the day Henry Baars and William Dudley Chipley, both lately of the Confederate army. This area became the favorite place to build for the up and coming "Kings of Commerce" and quickly became known among the blue-collar class as “Snob Hill.” His palace had fifteen rooms that encompassed over ten thousand square feet of living space and would later be given the address of 519 North Palafox Street. The home was built at the costs of $17,000 and exhibited outstanding craftsmanship that displayed the architectural designs of the times. It was 2½ stories high, with a basement and a four-story tower that commanded a beautiful view of the bustling harbor.
James and his sister "Miss Fannie," named after her mother, occupied the home together after his mother passed away. One legend had it that James built the home for his bride-to-be, but was jilted by his lover and spent the rest of his heartbroken life as a recluse in the home. In his later years, Dr. Herron used his home as his medical office, which never interfered with the socializing of Miss Fannie. At the age of 79-years old James S. Herron became seriously ill at his home causing his sister to become very worried. After three weeks, she notified their brother Dr. Charles Herron in Savannah of the severity of his illness. Charles immediately embarked for Pensacola by train to be at his side. James died in his home and having never married, he was survived only by his brother Charles and his sister Miss Fannie. Both were at his bedside when he passed away on February 20, 1915. He was buried in the St. Michael’s cemetery where Miss Fannie would join him two years later on January 5, 1917. Dr. Herron bequeathed the "Herron House" to two Catholic orphanages in the Diocese of Savannah. In 1924, the Knights of Columbus came into possession of the house and used it as their headquarters until 1963. Due to the financial burden of its upkeep it was later demolished to make room for a new city council hall.
Dr. James S. Herron
The beautiful Herron home on North Palafox Street
Dr. Herron's grave site at St. Michael's Cemetery
Miss Fannie's death article of 1917
Miss Fannie's grave site