The community is home to one of the first paper mills to locate in the State of Florida, and was the site of General Andrew Jackson's encampment in 1821 when he arrived to accept Florida into the United States. He stayed with his friend, the Spanish Land grant holder Don Gonzales, at his house which was 15 miles north of the ceremony site, which was in downtown Pensacola. General Jackson's troops camped nearby, which gave the area its name - Cantonment - which means "temporary quarters for troops". The main entrance to Pensacola from the north, U.S. Highway 29, runs through the town. Also noteworthy about the region is the fact that it lies in the narrowest part of the County between two large rivers, the Perdido and the Escambia. The Escambia River is the 4th largest river in the State of Florida and is considered the best fishing river by the Florida Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Pensacola Regional Airport (PNS ^IATA) is served by six airlines providing direct service to Houston George Bush Intercontinental, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Chicago O'Hare, Memphis, Charlotte, Tampa, Orlando, and Fort Lauderdale. From the airport, you can rent a car, order a cab, or use the Escambia County Area Transit (ECAT) bus system. Numerous companies offer car rental service from PNS, and this will be your best option for traveling around the city. Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar Rent-a-Car, Hertz, and National Car Rental all offer services at the airport. In addition, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and Thrifty Car Rental have locations just off of airport property, and offer complimentary shuttle service to their offices.

Taxi cabs are authorized to charge an additional $1 to pick up anyone from the airport, and there is an $11 minimum charge for the use of a taxi from the airport. However, this charge is lower than most cities in the United States, and in fact Pensacola taxi cab fares are among the lowest in the nation; due to the large size of Pensacola, taxis are an expensive way to travel the city but an effective and easy way.

By car, Cantonment is about three hours west of Tallahassee and three hours east of New Orleans via I-10, and two and one-half hours south of Montgomery via Hwy 29 and I-65. Interstate 10 travels east-west north of Pensacola, and south of Cantonment.

Highway 29 is a 4-lane rural highway that connects Pensacola with Interstate 65 through Flomaton, Alabama and then Alabama 113, also a 4 lane highway, to I-65, just a few miles north of Flomaton. If you're traveling south to Pensacola, through Alabama, using Highway 29 as a shortcut from I-65 can save you about two hours rather than going to Mobile first on the Interstate.