Brevard County, Florida

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PDF generated at: Thu, 08 Dec 2011 02:53:10 UTC Contents Articles Introduction 1 Brevard County, Florida 1 Northern Brevard Co. 32 Mims, Florida 32 Titusville, Florida 35 Cocoa, Florida 44 Southern Brevard Co. 52 Rockledge, Florida 52 Melbourne, Florida 59 Palm Bay, Florida 74 Military in Brevard Co. 84 45th Space Wing 84 Kennedy Space Center 88 Patrick Air Force Base 97 References Article Sources and Contributors 104 Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors 105 Article Licenses License 107 1 Introduction Brevard County, Florida Brevard County, Florida Flag Seal Location in the state of Florida Florida's location in the U.S. Founded March 14, 1844 Seat Titusville Area 1556.95 sq mi (4032 km²) - Total 1018.19 sq mi (2637 km²) - Land 538.76 sq mi (1395 km²), 34.60% - Water Population 543376 - (2010) 534/sq mi (206.05/km²) - Density [1] Website www.brevardcounty.us/ Brevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state.[2] Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County is also known as the Space Coast. Brevard County, Florida 2 As such, it was designated with the telephone area code 321 as in 3-2-1 liftoff. The official county seat has been located in Titusville since 1894, although most of the county's administration is performed from Viera. Brevard County has more than one county courthouse and sheriff's office because of its elongated north-south county lines. Hence, government services are not centralized in one location, as they are in many American counties. The county is coextensive with the Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) designated by the Office of Management and Budget and used for statistical purposes by the Census Bureau and other agencies. Palm Bay, Melbourne and Titusville are designated as the principal cities of the MSA. The Melbourne-Titusville-Cocoa, Florida Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area was first defined in 1973. Cocoa was removed as a principal city in 1983, and Palm Bay was added, with the name changed to Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The MSA name was changed to its present form in 2003.[3] History Precolumbian Further information: Windover Archaeological Site and Crane_Creek_(Melbourne,_Florida)#History The first Paleoindians arrived in the area near Brevard county between 12,000 and 10,000 years ago.[4] The Paleoindians were semi-nomadic people who lived in smaller groups. At the time, the earth was going through its most recent ice age and the climate of the area was much different than it is now;[4] it was similar to that of Great Britain today. The area which today is Brevard County was probably not coastal at this period in time. The coast of Florida was about 100 miles (160 km) wider[4] and the Indian River was simply a lower point on dry land. After a few thousand years, perhaps by around 3000 B.C. peninsular Florida resembled the land of today; in shape, climate, fauna, and flora. The ocean had risen enough to flood the Indian River with salt water.[5] About this time, a new group of settlers appeared known as "the archaic people."[4] [6] These people were primarily fishermen, as opposed to the hunting and gathering way of life which characterized the Paleoindians.[4] It is believed that these were the ancestors of the Native Americans who would come in contact with the Europeans when they arrived. From Spanish rule to statehood The Ais and the Jaega were the dominant tribes in the area when Ponce De Leon arrived at the shores near Melbourne Beach in 1513.[4] [7] There were about 10,000 of these natives in the area.[8] Heavy mosquito infestation and the threat of Indian attacks kept the area from having any permanent white settlements. The Spanish quickly left the area, but left a deadly reminder of their visit: European diseases. In 1763, the Spanish took the last 80 natives to Cuba.[8] Within 200 years, almost the entire precolumbian population of Florida had died out. Creek Indians from the north quickly swept down from Georgia and the Carolinas to fill the void. These Indians became known as the Seminole. Their activity in Brevard County was intermittent and usually not permanent. Throughout the 18th century, the great European powers Spain, Great Britain and France vied for power in Florida. Their interest in the peninsula was more strategic than for building any real settlements. In contrast to today, where living in Florida means comfort and the "good life" to many people, Florida in the 18th century was seen as a hostile place with dangerous fauna such as poisonous snakes, alligators and panthers. Death by malaria was a possibility and death at the hands of angry Indians seemed even more likely. After being under Spanish, French, British, and then Spanish rule again, Florida finally became a United States territory. Brevard County, Florida 3 In 1837, Fort Ann was established on the eastern shore of the Indian River on a narrow strip of land on Merritt Island.[6] During the construction of the Hernandez-Capron Trail, General Joseph Hernandez and his militiamen encamped near present day Mims.[6] These settlements were short lived and were abandoned shortly thereafter. Statehood to 1900 In 1845, Florida became the 27th state of the Union. How and when Brevard County was founded and its history in the 19th century is much more complicated. During the 19th century, the state of Florida was constantly changing the names and borders of counties. Indeed, St. Lucia County was split off from Mosquito (later Orange) County in 1844.[9] St. Lucia County was renamed Brevard County in 1856, but this "Brevard County" contained very little of present day Brevard County. Most of present day Brevard north of Melbourne was part of Boathouse, Titusville, Florida 1885. either Volusia or Orange counties.[9] Brevard County in 1856 extended as far west as Polk County and as far south as coastal Broward County. Complicating the discussion of Brevard County in the 19th century is that an early county seat was located at (Port) St. Lucie, which took its name from the original county name and was eventually split off from Brevard to form a new county, St. Lucie County in 1905. Gradually, the borders of Brevard County were shifted northward while the county got "pinched" eastward.[9] The portions of Brevard County in present day Broward and Palm Beach counties were given to Dade County, western areas of the county were given to Polk and Osceola County, and parts of Volusia and Orange Counties were given to Brevard including the eventual county seat of Titusville. Later, the southern portion of the county was cut off to form St. Lucie County, which in turn spawned Martin and Indian River County.[9] The first permanent settlement in present day Brevard was, without a doubt, established near Cape Canaveral in 1848.[4] After the establishment of a lighthouse, a few families moved in and a small, but stable settlement was born. Gradually, as the threat of Seminole Indian attacks was becoming increasingly unlikely, people began to move into the area around the Indian River. In the 1850s a small community developed at Sand Point which eventually became the city of Titusville.[6] Unlike other areas of Florida, the American Civil War had little effect on Brevard County, other than perhaps slow the movement of settlers to the area. By the 1880s, the cities along the Indian River included Melbourne, Eau Gallie, Titusville, Rockledge, and Cocoa.[4] Unlike cities further inland in Florida, these cities did not have to rely as heavily on roads. The primary way of transversing the county was by water. In 1877 commercial steamboat transportation became a reality as the steamboat Pioneer was brought to the area.[6] The first real boom to the area occurred with the extension of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad into the area.[6] The railroad reached Titusville in 1886 and Melbourne in 1894. With the railroad came increased settlement and the first tourists. Brevard County, Florida 4 20th century to present The advent of the automobile age brought even more growth to Brevard County as resorts and hotels popped up all around the county.[6] As the automobile became increasingly important as a means of transportation, roads connecting Brevard County to the rest of Florida and ultimately the rest of the nation were built. The first major land boom began in the 1920s with the end of World War I.[4] People flooded into the state of Florida as land prices soared, only to bust as the Great Depression temporarily stopped growth in Florida. Before the start of World War II, the Crane Creek, Melbourne circa 1900 largest industries in Brevard were commercial fishing, citrus, and tourism.[10] In 1940, the Naval Air Station Banana River (now Patrick Air Force Base) was built. This began a new era in the development of Brevard County. Later, in the late 50s, the Long Range Proving Ground was opened.[4] This later became the Kennedy Space Center. This changed the entire complexion of the county; where Brevard had once been considered a "backwoods" area of Florida, it instantly became the launching pad into outer space.

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