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Titusville, Florida

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Titusville, Florida
City
Historic Brevard County Courthouse in 2006
Historic Brevard County Courthouse in 2006
Location in Brevard County and the state of Florida
Location in Brevard County and the state of Florida
Country United States
State Florida
County Brevard
Area
 • Total
26 sq mi (67.1 km2)
 • Land21.3 sq mi (55.1 km2)
 • Water4.7 sq mi (12 km2)
Elevation
10 ft (3 m)
Population
 (2000)
 • Total
40,670
 • Density1,564.2/sq mi (606.1/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
Area code321
FIPS code12-71900Template:GR
GNIS feature ID0292319Template:GR

Titusville is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 40,670 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 42,614. It is the county seat of Brevard CountyTemplate:GR. Called "Space City, USA," Titusville is a popular area situated near the Kennedy Space Center and Canaveral National Seashore.

History

Washington Avenue in c. 1910

The area was once 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 to slave raids, disease and rum. Florida was acquired from Spain in 1821, but the Seminole Wars would delay settlement.

Originally called "Sand Point," a post office was established in 1859, although it closed a few months later. Confederate Colonel Henry T. Titus arrived in 1867 with the intention 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 1-story hotel next to a saloon. He also donated land for 4 churches and a courthouse, the latter an effort to get the town designated as county seat. The community was named "Titusville" in 1873. It would be incorporated as a city in 1887, the year construction began on St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, listed in 1972 on the National Register of Historic Places. At one point, Titusville would be nicknamed "The City of Churches."

Railroad Depot in c. 1905

The Atlantic Coast, St. Johns & Indian River Railroad arrived in 1885 from Enterprise, which was connected by a spur line to the Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railroad at Enterprise Junction in present-day DeBary. Henry Flagler would then extend his Florida East Coast Railroad south from Daytona, with the station built in Titusville in 1892. Tourists arrived, and the Indian River area would increasingly become an agricultural and shipping center for pineapple and citrus produce. A wooden bridge was built east to Playalinda Beach in 1922. In the 1950s, the creation of the space center on Merritt Island made the community's economy, population and tourism grow considerably.

Government

Titusville 2020 is a process that is intended to help make decisions for that city's growth through 2010 that will set the stage for a well-run community in the decades ahead. This accepts public input in a process known as "visioning." The plan focuses on revitalizing the old downtown and developing along a 3 miles stretch of river with accompanying major highway, US 1.

Titusville is crafting a plan for the future of its century-old downtown and surroundings, including better use of waterfront areas.

Titusville has the highest city tax rate in the county.[1]

In 2007, the city had a taxable real estate base of $2.34 billion.[2]

Historic sites and Museums

Geography

Titusville is located at 28°35′28″N 80°49′12″W / 28.59111°N 80.82000°W / 28.59111; -80.82000Invalid arguments have been passed to the {{#coordinates:}} function (28.591210, -80.819911)Template:GR. Titusville sits on the Indian River in the Northern half of Brevard County, Florida.According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 67.1 km² (25.9 mi²). 55.1 km² (21.3 mi²) of it is land and 12.0 km² (4.7 mi²) of it (17.95%) is water. Titusville is located on the Indian River lagoon, part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.

Climate

Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Rec High °F 88 92 94 97 102 103 103 102 99 98 93 88
Norm High °F 70 72 77 81 86 89 91 91 89 83 78 72
Norm Low °F 49 51 56 60 67 72 73 74 73 66 59 53
Rec Low °F 19 23 26 35 45 56 61 60 51 40 27 19
Precip (in) 2.48 2.79 3.60 2.79 3.66 6.09 7.03 7.27 6.82 4.29 3.45 2.52
Source: The Weather Channel [4]

Demographics

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 40,670 people, 17,200 households, and 11,094 families residing in the city. The population density was 738.6/km² (1,913.4/mi²). There were 19,178 housing units at an average density of 348.3/km² (902.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 83.80% White, 12.64% African American, 0.39% Native American, 0.94% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.73% from other races, and 1.46% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.52% of the population.

There were 17,200 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.5% were non-families. 29.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% 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% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 20.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.1 males.

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the city was $35,607, and the median income for a family was $42,453. 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% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.6% of those under age 18 and 6.8% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

Knight's Armament Company, located here, is believed to be the state's largest manufacturer of small arms.[3]

Infrastructure

The city primarily get its water supply from the Florida’s Surficial Aquifer. The Surficial Aquifer is a shallow, unconfined aquifer that overlays the larger Floridan Aquifer. In 2005, about 3.8 million gallons per day of raw water were drawn from the City’s two wellfields.[4]

Notable sites

Schools

Notable Inhabitants

Media

Computer Shopper was founded in Titusville in 1981 and was published here as a large tabloid catalog until 1988, when Ziff Davis bought the magazine and moved it to New York City.

References

  1. ^ http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007704150354
  2. ^ Dean, James (April 26, 2008). More taxes or fewer services. Florida Today.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: year (link)
  3. ^ [1] retrieved August 24, 2008
  4. ^ [2] retrieved June 24, 2008
  5. ^ [3]

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