Titusville, Florida

Titusville is a city and the county seat of Brevard County, Florida, United States.[7] The city's population was 43,761 as of the 2010 United States Census.[3] Titusville is located along the Indian River, west of Merritt Island and the Kennedy Space Center, and south-southwest of the Canaveral National Seashore. It is a principal city of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Titusville, Florida
City
City of Titusville
Historic Brevard County Courthouse in 2006
Seal
Nickname(s): 
"Miracle City"[1]
Motto(s): 
"Gateway To Nature And Space"
Location in Brevard County and the U.S. state of Florida
Coordinates: 28°35′28″N 80°49′12″W
Country United States of America
State Florida
County Brevard
Founded1867 (1867)
Incorporated (city)1887 (1887)
Founded byHenry T. Titus
Government
 • TypeCouncil-Manager
 • MayorWalt Johnson
 • City ManagerScott Larese
 • Vice MayorDan Diesel
Area
 • Total34.19 sq mi (88.56 km2)
 • Land29.10 sq mi (75.37 km2)
 • Water5.09 sq mi (13.19 km2)
Elevation
10 ft (3 m)
Population
 • Total43,761
 • Estimate 
(2019)[4]
46,580
 • Density1,581.30/sq mi (610.54/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP codes
32780, 32781, 32782, 32783, 32796
Area code(s)321
FIPS code12-71900[5]
GNIS feature ID0292319[6]
Websitetitusville.com

Near Titusville is the Windover Archeological Site, a National Historic Landmark recognizing its important collection of human remains and artifacts of the early Archaic Period (6,000 to 5,000 BCE.)

A secondary, de facto county seat was established beginning in 1989 at Viera, Florida, in the geographic center of the county, to better serve the more populous southern portion of the county.

History
Washington Avenue c. 1910

Indigenous peoples had inhabited this area for thousands of years, as shown by discovery in 1982 of the Windover Archeological Site, dating to the early Archaic Period (6000 to 5000 BCE). It has been designated as a National Historic Landmark because of the significance of its remains.

At the time of European encounter, this area was inhabited by the Ais Indians, who gathered palmetto, cocoplum and seagrape berries. They also fished the Indian River, called the Rio de Ais by Spanish explorers. By 1760, however, the tribe had disappeared due largely to infectious disease, slave raids, and the disruptive effects of rum.

The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, and the Seminole Wars delayed settlement of portions of the new territory.

This community was originally called Sand Point, and a post office was established in 1859, although it closed a few months later. Henry T. Titus arrived in 1867, intending to build a town on land owned by his wife, Mary Hopkins Titus, daughter of a prominent planter from Darien, Georgia. He laid out roads and in 1870 erected the Titus House, a large, one-story hotel next to a saloon. He also donated land for four churches and a courthouse, the latter an effort to get the town designated as county seat.

Local history says that Titus challenged Capt. Clark Rice to a game of dominoes to decide the name of the town. Titus won the game, and Sand Point was renamed as Titusville in 1873.[8] The city was incorporated in 1887, the year construction began on St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, as listed in the 1972 National Register of Historic Places. At one point, Titusville was nicknamed "The City of Churches".

Railroad depot c. 1905

The Atlantic Coast, St. Johns & Indian River Railroad reached Titusville in 1885, constructed from Enterprise, Florida. It was connected by a spur line to the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railroad at Enterprise Junction in present-day DeBary, Florida. Henry Flagler extended his Florida East Coast Railroad south from Daytona, building a station at Titusville in 1892. Many tourists arrived by railroad to enjoy the mild winter climate.

In addition, the railroad was a means to ship area produce to northern markets, and the Indian River area increasingly became an agricultural and shipping center for pineapple and citrus goods. A wooden bridge was built east to Playalinda Beach in 1922.

Beginning in the late 1950s, the growth of Cape Canaveral, and later the Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, stimulated growth in the community's economy, population and tourism. The association with the space program led to the city's two nicknames in the 1960s: Space City USA and Miracle City.

Searstown Mall opened in 1966. Miracle City Mall opened in 1968, built on 32 acres (13 ha). It had 275,000 square feet (25,500 m2) of covered floor space.[9]

The jail at the county courthouse became overcrowded by the 1980s. Jailbreaks were common. They ceased after prisoners were moved in 1986 to a new jailhouse built in Sharpes.

Computer Shopper was founded in Titusville in 1979 by Glenn Patch, first as a tabloid. It was later expanded as a magazine of over 800 pages per issue. It was published in Titusville until September 1989.[10] That year operations were to be moved to New York City in a joint venture between Patch Communications of Titusville and Ziff Davis.[10]

The A. Max Brewer Bridge, a 65 feet (20 m) fixed high-level span on SR-406 connecting Titusville to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore, opened on February 5, 2011 to replace the former swing bridge built in 1949.

In May 2012, the Brevard County School Board closed Riverview Elementary School for budgetary reasons. It closed South Lake Elementary School on May 25, 2013.[11]

In January 2013, Miracle City Mall closed, a victim of a declining local economy after the termination of the Space Shuttle program in 2012. In addition, county population had moved to the south, and changing shopping habits had adversely affected malls across the country.[9] Demolition of Miracle City Mall occurred February 2015. The site has been redeveloped as a mixed-use outdoor shopping complex called Titus Landing.

Because of population decline, the USPS had closed two post offices in Titusville by 2013, and discussed closing a third.[12]

Newspapers
  • Titusville Star-Advocate – began publication in 1920 when the East Coast Advocate and Indian River Chronicle merged with the Indian River Star; bought by Henry Hudson in 1925; became Brevard's first daily newspaper in 1965; the Star-Advocate was sold by Henry Hudson and his son Bob Hudson to Gannett Company in 1965. As part of the deal, publication of the Star-Advocate would be retained as long as editor Bob Hudson wished. Daily publication (Monday to Friday) ceased after January 31, 1975 when the Star-Advocate was changed to a weekly local insert for Titusville residents in Gannett's Florida Today starting Wednesday, February 5, 1975. The format was changed from a newspaper to a small tabloid in the early 2000s. In July 2013, publication of the Star-Advocate was ceased.
  • The North Brevard Beacon – biweekly newspaper based in Titusville that served the communities of North Brevard; publication started November 5, 2003; ceased publication after March 4, 2010.
  • The News Observer of North Brevard – semiweekly newspaper based in Titusville; ceased publication September 4, 2003 after 15 years.

Geography

Titusville is located at 28°35′28″N 80°49′12″W (28.591210, -80.819911)[13] in the northern half of Brevard County. According to the US Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 34.2 square miles (88.7 km2). 29.4 square miles (76.1 km2) of it is land, and 4.9 square miles (12.7 km2) of it (14.26 percent) is water.[14] Titusville is located on the Indian River Lagoon, part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

Flora

The city is the only place in the world where the endangered Dicerandra thinicola, or "Titusville mint" grows. The fields are located along a 13 miles (21 km) strip between the Titusville wellfield and Mims.[15]

Climate

Titusville has—as the rest of central Florida does—a very warm humid subtropical climate with significant influence from the tropics, although the cooler winter lows than farther south separates it from the classification.

Climate data for Titusville, Florida
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 88
(31)		 92
(33)		 94
(34)		 97
(36)		 102
(39)		 103
(39)		 103
(39)		 102
(39)		 99
(37)		 98
(37)		 93
(34)		 88
(31)		 103
(39)
Average high °F (°C) 70
(21)		 72
(22)		 77
(25)		 81
(27)		 86
(30)		 90
(32)		 92
(33)		 91
(33)		 89
(32)		 84
(29)		 78
(26)		 72
(22)		 82
(28)
Average low °F (°C) 50
(10)		 53
(12)		 57
(14)		 62
(17)		 68
(20)		 73
(23)		 74
(23)		 75
(24)		 74
(23)		 68
(20)		 61
(16)		 54
(12)		 64
(18)
Record low °F (°C) 19
(−7)		 23
(−5)		 26
(−3)		 35
(2)		 45
(7)		 56
(13)		 61
(16)		 60
(16)		 51
(11)		 40
(4)		 27
(−3)		 19
(−7)		 19
(−7)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.48
(63)		 2.79
(71)		 3.60
(91)		 2.79
(71)		 3.66
(93)		 6.09
(155)		 7.03
(179)		 7.27
(185)		 6.82
(173)		 4.29
(109)		 3.45
(88)		 2.52
(64)		 52.79
(1,342)
Source: "Titusville, FL Monthly Weather". July 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1890746—
19007561.3%
191086814.8%
19201,36156.8%
19302,08953.5%
19402,2206.3%
19502,60417.3%
19606,410146.2%
197030,515376.1%
198031,9104.6%
199039,39423.5%
200040,6703.2%
201043,7617.6%
Est. 201946,580[4]6.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 40,670 people, 17,200 households, and 11,094 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,913.4 inhabitants per square mile (738.6/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 83.80 percent White, 12.64 percent African American, 0.39 percent Native American, 0.94 percent Asian, 0.04 percent Pacific Islander, 0.73 percent from other races, and 1.46 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.52 percent of the population.

There were 17,200 households, out of which 26.7 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9 percent were married couples living together, 12.6 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5 percent were non-families. 29.9 percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.9 percent under the age of 18, 6.9 percent from 18 to 24, 26.2 percent from 25 to 44, 23.2 percent from 45 to 64, and 20.8 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. In 2010, this had risen to 43.4.[17] For every 100 females, there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

In 2010, for residents 25 and older, 89.3% had completed high school, 22.6% had at least a bachelor's degree.[17]

Government
See also: List of mayors of Titusville, Florida

Titusville is run by a council-manager government. The elected city council serves as the city's legislative branch, while the appointed city manager carries out policies defined by the council. The city is governed according to its Charter, adopted on June 3, 1963.[18]

Titusville has the highest city tax rate in the county.[19] In 2007, the city had a taxable real estate base of $2.34 billion.[20]

The city has 1.8 police officers per thousand residents. This is 52% below average statewide for cities of its size.[21]

A 2011 study rated the pension fund for city employees as mediocre or poor.[22]

City council

Titusville's five city council members (one of whom is the mayor) are elected at-large to four-year, staggered terms. As the city's legislative body, the council determines all municipal policies not explicitly covered by the city charter or state legislation. It also adopts ordinances and resolutions, cote appropriations, approve budgets, determine the tax rate, and appoint citizens to serve on advisory boards and commissions.[23]

The mayor presides over all city council meetings and votes as a council member. The mayor is the recognized head of city government for ceremonial and military law purposes, but has no regular administrative duties. The vice mayor is chosen from among the council members at their annual organizational meeting and takes the mayor's place during absence or disability.[23]

  • Mayor: Walt Johnson (term expires 2020)
  • Vice mayor: Daniel Diesel (term expires 2022)
  • Council members: JoLynn Nelson (term expires 2022), Robert Jordan (term expires 2022), Sarah Stoeckel (term expires 2020)

City manager

The city manager is chosen by the city council on the basis of training, experience and ability, and serves at the pleasure of the council for an indefinite period of time. The city manager is tasked with enforcing all laws and ordinances, appointing and removing department heads and employees, supervising all departments, keeping the council advised on the city's financial situation, keeping the council and public informed of the city government's operations.[18]

  • City manager: Scott Larese[24]

County seat

The Brevard County Courthouse is located here. A new jail was built outside town to meet current standards. A full range of county services are provided at the county seat.

Economy

In 2010, private business was 24.7 percent "other"; 21.5 percent trade, transportation and utilities, 18.1 percent professional and business services; 13.7 percent educational and health services; 12 percent construction; and 10 percent leisure and hospitality.[17] The economy shrunk after lay-offs involving the end of the space shuttle program in 2011, since many employees live in Titusville. Titusville has a high unemployment rate.

Personal income

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $35,607, and the median income for a family was $42,453. This had risen to $44,925 median per household in 2010; $24,374 per capita income.[17] Males had a median income of $36,076 versus $23,998 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,901. About 9.3 percent of families and 12.4 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6 percent of those under age 18 and 6.8 percent of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Many of Titusville's major employers are aerospace companies.[25] Knight's Armament Company in Titusville is believed to be the state's largest manufacturer of small arms.[26] Parrish Medical Center, located in Titusville, is the city's largest employer. In October 2013, Barn Light Electric Company opened a new manufacturing plant, providing work for at least 60 former NASA workers and men who had completed drug rehabilitation.[27]

Tourism

The city has benefited from tourism associated with the space program, and the TICO Warbird Air Show each March draws about 40,000–50,000 visitors.[28]

While 47 miles (76 km) from the event, the city gets a noticeable economic effect from bikers on their way to the annual Daytona Beach Bike Week.[29]

Workforce

The unemployment rate was 3.6% in 2000 and 2005.[17] In 2007, the average size of Titusville's labor force was 20,716. Of that group, 19,879 were employed and 837 were unemployed, for an unemployment rate of 4 percent.[25] In December 2010, the city had the highest unemployment in the county, 13.8 percent.[30]

Housing

As of the census[5] of 2000, there were 19,178 housing units at an average density of 902.3 per square mile (348.3/km2). In 2008, 55 building permits for 64 units were issued. This was down from 195 permits for 657 units in 2007. The city issued 292 permits for 360 units in 2006.[31]

In 2001 149 permits were issued for $18.6 million worth of property; 453 in 2005 for $65.7 million; 45 in 2010 for $9.5 million.[17]

The median home price in 2007 was $158,900.[25]

Retail

Shopping centers include Walmart Supercenter and Target. They are located in the city's shopping district at the southern end of the city, near the intersection of State Road 405 (Florida) and State Road 50 (Florida).

Library

The Titusville Public Library was one of the first of five public libraries in Brevard County, Florida, and was initially called the North Brevard Library. The library was started in 1900.[32] As of 2017, The Titusville Public Library is one of the few libraries in the county that is open seven days a week.

The library provides adult and children's programs.[33][34][35][33] There is a genealogy section with over 2200 books, over l00 periodicals, microfiche and film. Volunteers are in the library on Thursdays to help with research.[33] The Library also has a microfilm machine to aid in research.[36]

In 2015, a former patron left the Titusville Public Library a donation of about $860,000. This has been the largest donation made to the Brevard County Library System to date.[37] Renovations started in 2017 and are expected to be finished by 2018.[38]

Infrastructure

Utilities

As of 2006, the city owned water utility drew about 3.8 million US gallons (14 million l) of its water supply from two wellfields tapping a surficial aquifer. A new wellfield drawing 2.75 million US gallons (10.4 million l) per day from the Floridan aquifer was added in 2016.[39][40] The water department had 22,000 customers in 2010.[41]

Airports

Transportation

Titusville is served by SCAT's #1, #2, and #5 routes.[43]

Historic sites and museums
Titusville was a popular vantage point for Space Shuttle launches (STS-126, 2008).

Health care

Parrish Medical Center, originally established as North Brevard Hospital in 1958, is the hospital that serves Titusville.[44] A new 371,000-sq.ft., $80 million hospital was completed in 2002.[44] It was the first medical center in the Southeast region designed and constructed using the 7 Principles of Evidence-Based Design to create a healing environment. It was also among the first participants of The Pebble Project, a national research initiative to demonstrate that healing environments improve overall quality of care and create life-enhancing environments for patients, families and employees.

Education

It was estimated in 2007 that 88.1 percent of all Titusville residents 25 years or older are high school graduates, and 23.6 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher.[25]

Primary and secondary public schools are run by the Brevard County School Board:

Elementary schools
  • Apollo Elementary School
  • Coquina Elementary School
  • Imperial Estates Elementary School
  • Oak Park Elementary School

Middle schools
  • Jackson Middle School
  • Madison Middle School

High schools

Private schools

Colleges

Media

Radio

Notable people

References
  1. Walters, Mark Jerome (1992). A Shadow and a Song. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Classics. p. xiv. ISBN 978-1-933392-56-1.
  2. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved Jul 7, 2017.
  3. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (DP-1): Titusville city, Florida". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  4. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.<
  5. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  6. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  7. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  8. "The City of Titusville, Florida - About Titusville". Titusville.com. Retrieved 2012-12-18.
  9. Peterson, Patrick (February 3, 2013). "Shuttered store ends an era". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1A. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013.
  10. Oates, Sarah. "Titusville Magazine Plans Move, Layoffs In September". The Orlando Sentinel (26 July 1989). Tribune Publishing.
  11. "South Lake parents asking, 'Why us?'". Florida Today. November 28, 2012. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012.
  12. Gunnerson, Scott (February 4, 2013). "Titusville faces third post office closing". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1B. Archived from the original on February 6, 2013.
  13. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  14. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Titusville city, Florida". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  15. Saggio, Jessica (January 21, 2018). "10 things you probably don't know about the Space Coast". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 3A, 4A. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
  16. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. Berman, Dave (20 December 2010). "Working through tough times". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 7A. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014.
  18. Government City of Titusville - Official Site. Retrieved on 29-09-2009.
  19. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-04-15.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. Dean, James (April 26, 2008). More taxes or fewer services. Florida Today.
  21. Knapp, Andrew (16 October 2010). "Crime rate decreases 5.5%". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1B. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014.
  22. Walker, Don (November 11, 2011). "Cities pensions among the best, bottom". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 4B.
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  26. retrieved August 24, 2008 Archived May 12, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
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  28. Best, Keilani (6 March 2010). "Festivals boost economy". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 7C. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014.
  29. Kennerly, Britt (5 March 2011). "Revenue hopes ride on bikers' business". Florida Today. Melbourne, Florida. pp. 1A. Archived from the original on 8 March 2011.
  30. Kennerly, Britt (19 December 2010). "Proud Space City asks, "What's next?"". Melbourne, Florida: Florida Today. pp. 1A. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014.
  31. Building Permits Archived 2009-06-15 at the Wayback Machine United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2009-06-29.
  32. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED422005.pdf
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  39. retrieved June 24, 2008
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  46. "Bill DeMott". Online World of Wrestling. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-05.
  47. Online World of Wrestling. "Jim Duggan - Wrestler Profile".
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  51. "Laoretti's no pipe dream". Golf Digest.
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