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History....
Palm Bay, Florida, boasts rich history, which enhances the unique
character of our city. Our very first residents were the Ais, a
semi-nomadic tribe of Timucuan Indians, who settled along the Indian
River Lagoon and the banks of Turkey Creek. The excellent fishing and
plentiful wildlife attracted the Ais Indians. The Ais lived in this
region for thousands of years, but they began to die-off quickly
following the arrival of the Spanish explorers in the seventeenth
century, victims of European diseases such as smallpox and measles, to
which they had never been exposed. Others were enslaved or killed by the
Spanish conquerors. By the mid 1600s, the Ais had completely vanished,
leaving only signs of this lost, rich culture, including shell mounds,
pottery, arrowheads, and other artifacts. In 1845, Florida was annexed
by the U.S. and became the 27th state in the union. The first white
settlers began to trickle into Brevard County around the same time. The
1850 U.S. Census recorded a population of 139 people in Brevard County,
but this number would gradually increase as the Indians left and the
citrus groves were established. A few of those early homesteaders
selected a town called Tillman, located at the mouth of Turkey Creek,
and they established the Tillman's Post Office in 1887.
The advent of the railroad in 1894 brought further development to the
Town of Tillman. Visitors arriving by rail found a sleepy river village
that offered a Post Office, hotel and a few stores. Around the turn of
the century, the local population of Tillman totaled approximately 25
hearty souls, which changed in 1910 as the Indian River Land Company
began to market this area. Approximately 105 families, many of whom were
German and Slavic settlers from the mid-west, bought land in Tillman. In
1914, these early settlers built St. Joseph's Catholic Church on Miller
Street, a vibrant parish now located in the heart of Palm Bay to this
day. The original Miller Street Church is still standing, and, in fact,
is Palm Bay's oldest structure and on the National Register of Historic
Buildings.
Around 1925, the 200 residents of Tillman made
a significant decision. Having concluded that the name "Tillman" didn't
accurately depict the charming town, they petitioned the Postal
Department in Washington, DC to change the town name to Palm Bay. The
lush palm trees that lined the bay at the mouth of Turkey Creek inspired
the enchanting name. With its new name, Palm Bay's population gradually
swelled to about 800 families by 1950, six years later the Town of Palm
Bay was incorporated under the general laws of the state. It installed
its first Town Council and mayor, Harry Pollack. Under his leadership,
Palm Bay continued to grow, finally incorporating as a city on January
16, 1960.
Palm Bay experienced a major surge in growth following
World War II and the creation of the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) in 1958. The City continued to rapidly expand and
space-related companies like Radiation, Inc. spawned industrial growth.
In fact, local residents who worked for Radiation manufactured products
that were used on America's first communication and weather satellites
and on various manned space flights, including the Apollo missions to
the Moon. In 1967, Harris Corporation, one of the current city's largest
employers, acquired Radiation.
During the next few decades, Palm Bay continued to expand its infrastructure by developing a
number of new buildings and services, including schools, a new City
Hall, fire stations, police headquarters, library, and road. Likewise,
new homes, shops and businesses kept pace with the flourishing
population, thanks in part to Palm Bay's pro-business climate. Despite
all of this growth, Palm Bay was careful to set aside land to preserve
its natural qualities.
Today, Palm Bay is the 21st largest city in Florida by
population with more than 100,000 residents and is the ninth largest
city by size, covering more than 98 square miles. It encompasses 900
miles of paved roads, and is a haven for high-tech companies. With the
recent opening of the Lagoon House, a visitors' center and public
information resource for the Indian River Lagoon Scenic Highway, we
remain a city focused on the future. Yet in many ways, we still retain
the charming characteristics of that original small town situated on a
scenic bay of the Indian River Lagoon.
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