History-At-A-Glance
Establishment | Town of Cocoa Beach was established on June 5, 1925 |
First Settlers |
The first settlers were Indians, who were then captured by the Spaniards, they were then followed by freed slaves following the Civil War. In 1888, a group of Cocoa men bought the entire track of land. It was only when a prominent attorney arrived that the area started to develop |
City Founder |
Gus Edwards |
First Bridge | In 1920, bridge construction to Cocoa Beach started, and it was completed in 1922 |
Lots cost - 1922 |
$100 each |
Access | By the masses, on July 4th, 1922, when road access was given to the new casino |
Bus Tours | Gus Edwards bought a bus in 1924 and offered tours to the beach |
Racing on the beach | Racing on the beach was welcomed in 1924, with cars driving up to 180 miles per hour on the beach - then known as the world's greatest speedway |
Electricity | Came in 1925 |
Roads | S.R. A1A - funding was approved in 1932, then known as Route 104 |
Population 1939 | 49 residents |
Naval Air Station | October 1939 - New Banana Naval Air Station was commissioned |
Water | 1947 - water lines were installed |
Police | 1947 - one part-time police officer protected the town |
Naval Air Station | Banana River Base - 1948 re-named as Patrick Air Force |
Missiles | To the North of the City - May 11, 1949, President Harry Truman created a Long-Range Proving Ground for missiles at Cape Canaveral |
Population 1949 | 246 residents |
Telephone | Came in 1951 |
Lots Cost | $750 - $900 |
Sewage | 1954 - Overflowing septic tanks became a problem - a sewage treatment plant is to be constructed |
First Town Manager | 1955 Rodney Ketcham, also acted as Town Clerk |
Incorporation | Town incorporated into City in 1957 |
First Motel | 100 Rooms - Starlite Motel 1956 |
Hospital | 1957 - Committee recommended construction |
First Bank and Store | 1957 |
First School | Cocoa Beach Elementary School 1958 |
Beach Driving | Part of beach closed to driving - drunk driver struck and killed a 4-year old girl while driving 70 miles per hour |
First Rocket Flight with Human | May 5, 1961 - Alan Shepard - Freedom 7 |
First Comprehensive Plan | 1961 |
Cocoa Beach Pier | 1962 - constructed for $150,000 |
First Orbit | 1962, 75,000 people came to Cocoa Beach to see Friendship 7 with Astronaut John Glen - Orbit of the Earth |
Cape Canaveral | City incorporated in 1962 |
Bridge Expansion | S.R. 520 bridge expanded to 4 lanes in 1962 |
Surfside Playhouse | Constructed in 1963 |
Schools | Dredge and Fill area and Cocoa Beach Junior Senior High School was constructed in 1963 |
Recreation Complex | Dredge and Fill area and Complex built in 1966, Golf Course opened in 1968 |
TV Show | "I Dream of Jeanie" Show aired in Hollywood, story based on Cocoa Beach 1965 |
Municipal Pool | Dedicated in 1966 |
Schools | Roosevelt Middle School opened in 1967 |
Population | 12,000 people in 1968 |
First Armed Robbery | 1968 Gunmen robbed United National Bank - criminals were apprehended |
Beach Driving | Banned in 1969 |
Space | Apollo 11, July 16, 1969, 1st lunar landing |
Founder | 1969 First Mayor Gus Edwards dies |
Recession | May 29, 1970 - Thousands laid off at Kennedy Space Center - lasted through 1971 |
Population | 1970 - decrease in population to 9,442 |
Roads | S.R. 528 - new - road cleared permit issued |
Density | Clashes between residents and Commission on density issues |
Unemployment Rate | 14.3% in 1975 |
Population | 12,000 in 1975 |
Speed Limit | Lowered to 35 mph on A1A from 45 mph, Mayor's wife had died in car accident |
Time Capsule | 1975 - Buried at Fischer Park to be re-opened on July 4, 2076 |
Indian Mounds | Found in 1976 - at South Orlando Avenue between Fourteenth Street and Fifteenth Street |
Hurricane | 1977 - Space Coast most destructive weather - extensive erosion and damage to nearly all of the City's beachfront structures |
Space | Space Shuttle Columbia maiden voyage |
Fire Station | New Fire Station South Orlando Avenue completed in 1984 |
Population | 12,800 in 2003 |
Hurricanes |
2004 - 4 in one Season -
Four hurricanes have made landfall in
August and September. All of them hit Florida. Three passed through Brevard
County. Hurricane Ivan, Hurricane Charley, Major damage by Hurricane Frances - Cocoa Beach incurred an estimated damage of $40 Million, Major damage by Hurricane Jeanne |
Visitors since July 1, 2003