Genealogical Society
of
North Brevard
of
North Brevard
The Judge George Robbins Home
built 1886
courtesy the present owners
The Pirtle family
Newsletter
History of
Titusville
Members Home
Page
Home Page
Services Offered
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Personal help on one-to-one basis at the North Brevard Public Library. Call the library (264-5026) for current schedule. Maintain a file reflecting surnames being researched by members Maintain a bibliography file of books owned by members who are willing to share their genealogical sources with others. Extracting vital statistics from pre-1900 newspaper serving Brevard County. Collecting and preserving ancestor tables and pedigree charts summarizing the ancestry of the Society's membership. Publishing monthly The Register, a newsletter available at meetings.
NORTH BREVARD, INC.
is a non-profit corporation chartered by the State of Florida. It
is affiliated with the
East Central Florida Genealogical Society Co-op, the Federation of
Genealogical Societies,
the Florida State Genealogical Society, Inc., and the National
Genealogical Society.
Dues: $10/person or $15/family per year
THE
REGISTER
to
Research Guide
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History of
Titusville
The population is 79,861, and the climate is temperate.There are 17 banks; 80 churches of all denominations except Jewish and Unitarian Universalist; 1 daily newspaper, Sunday, and 2 weeklies; radio stations; motels, a hospital; rail, bus, air and good highways transportation; police and fire protection; public schools and a university and a public library. There are 22 parks. The trade area has a radius of 20 miles.
Ten thousand years ago, a peculiar tribe of Indians traversed the area which is now the northern portion of Brevard County and the City of
Titusville. Later, these Indians were to be named Ais (pronounced "ice") by the Spaniards. They were a fierce, strong people muchly feared by all the surrounding tribes and the Europeans. About 1750, the Ais had become decimated by the diseases and "evils" (such as alcohol) of the Europeans and disappeared completely from their native land in which they had reigned supreme for some 8,850 years. Today all that can be seen of the great Ais culture are those shell mounds which have not been destroyed.
After the United States purchased Florida in 1821, a few settlers began to move into this area. Captain Douglas Dummitt established residence in the area and planted groves on land located on Merritt Island. Florida became the twenty-seventy state in the Union on march 3, 1845, and again people began to migrate into the beautiful Indian River vicinity. Between 1860 and 1870 the census showed an increase of almost five hundred per cent, most occurring after 1865.
Late in 11867, Colonel Henry Theodore Titus landed at Sand Point and began to build the town that was to bear his name. On October 7, 1879, Titusville became the county seat of Brevard County. Brevard County was named for Judge Theodore Washington Brevard, twelve years the comptroller of Florida. On January 6, 1895, Colonel Titus donated all the land for the county buildings. Titusville was the first city on the Indian River to become incorporated on November 10-, 1886. At the time the city had a population of about 400 people, and there were fours stores, a post office, two hotels, a weekly newspaper, two public schools, and a saw mill, with the Jacksonville-Tampa-Key West railroad connecting Titusville and Enterprise.
Disaster befell Titusville in the 1890's, but the decade began with great strides. In 1891, electric lights came to Titusville followed by a commercial ice plant, the Flagler Railroad, and telegraph service. The disaster in 1895 was the burning of several city blocks which were rebuilt at once.
Following World War II, the space industry came to Brevard County and expansion was at a rapid pace. The first missile launch was on July 4, 1950. The passage by Congress of the Space Act of October 1958 projected us into various space programs which culminated in putting man on the moon in 1969. A leveling off of activity followed as the "One Step for Mankind" was a pretty hard act to follow.
During the seventies, NASA began preparing for the Space Shuttle program. Launches with payloads began in the mid eighties and continue today.
Diversified industry moved into Titusville while all the glamour was being poured on the space activities. An adopted 10,200 acre Land Use plan providing 4,000 acres of industrial sites will provide the are with a controlled growth pattern through the year 2000.
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