Titusville, Florida
Titusville is Space City, USA though it has other claims to fame too. It is a city in Brevard County, in the Palm Bay-Melbourne metro area and the county seat. Historic Titusville is the oldest community on the Indian River and the Indian River lagoon. The community owes a lot to Confederate Col. Henry T. Titus who founded it in 1867.
About The Community
The area was known as Sand Point earlier and Mrs. Mary Titus, who owned land in the neighborhood and her husband built the first hotel there and named it The Titus House. They also donated land for the first courthouse, four churches, laid out streets, and connected the St. Johns and Indian Rivers with mule-drawn wagons. They renamed the town Titusville in 1873 and it was incorporated in 1887.
The area was once a center for pineapple and citrus, which was shipped out from Titusville. The community flourished with the setting up of a bank, railroad station and schools. The local Board of Trade was the forerunner of the present day Chamber of Commerce. A bridge across the Indian River created easy access to Playalinda and Desoto Beaches. A highlight of 1927 was the opening of the present day Arthur Dunn Airpark. Titusville however, was deeply affected economic depression of the 1930s. During World War II, a Navy fighter field was established just south of Titusville, which today is known as Space Coast Regional Airport.
Important Links
Neighboring communities were annexed into Titusville in the late1950s and the area developed steadily again, particularly when Kennedy Space Center was established. The first high rises, golf courses and churches were built then and Titusville was at the center of attention again. Today Titusville has numerous beautiful parks dotting the city and a stroll through the historic downtown area tells a lot about the city’s past.
Vicinity of Titusville
Additional Details
Space View Park on the shore of the Indian River boasts of artistic sculpture, palms and hardwood trees. The Veteran’s Memorial in it commemorates the wars in which the United States has participated with a Circle of Memories. These are eleven granite monuments, ten of which are dedicated to the wars and the eleventh is the Peace Monument. The U.S. Space Walk of Fame honors America’s astronauts as well as the people behind the scenes of space exploration. You can compare your handprints to those of the Mercury Astronauts. Sand Point Park is large, popular community river park and home to the Titusville Little League. The Astronaut Memorial is located near the south entrance to the park.
Canaveral National Seashore is twenty-seven miles of pristine undeveloped coastline on a barrier island with incredibly beautiful Atlantic beaches. Surfing is a popular sport here. Nature lovers can observe a variety of wildlife among the dunes, marshes, and the lagoon. Bird lovers will have a field day watching water birds of all species nesting and fishing. This area is part of the largest nesting ground for sea turtles. More than 6,000 loggerheads, green seas and leatherbacks lay up to six hundred eggs each, between May and August. Do not miss a chance of a guided tour after sundown to witness them nesting.
