History of Melbourne, Florida
Melbourne began as Crane Creek, where, according to the 2016 National Register nomination for Green Gables, the first settlers were freedmen who came in 1867. William Camp filed the first plat in 1886, and the Town of Melbourne was incorporated on December 22, 1888, named for its first postmaster, Cornthwaite John Hector, who was said to have come from Melbourne, Australia. The railroad reached Eau Gallie in May 1893 and Melbourne a few months later. After the freezes of 1894-95, fishing, lumber, ranching and replanted groves carried the town.
The space program brought the boom. Brevard Engineering College, now the Florida Institute of Technology, held its first classes in 1958. By 1960 Melbourne and Eau Gallie were almost the same size, and in 1969 Eau Gallie was consolidated into Melbourne. The census counted 11,982 people in Melbourne in 1960 and 40,236 in 1970, after the merger.
Population, census by census
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 131 |
| 1910 | 157 |
| 1920 | 533 |
| 1930 | 2,677 |
| 1940 | 2,622 |
| 1950 | 4,223 |
| 1960 | 11,982 |
| 1970 | 40,236 |
| 1980 | 46,536 |
| 1990 | 59,646 |
| 2010 | 76,068 |
| 2020 | 84,678 |
Every article, in order
Each article on this site, grouped by the period it covers.
Before 1900
- Melbourne's founding: Crane Creek's freedmen, the 1886 plat and the 1888 town
- Eau Gallie's founding: John Houston, William Gleason and the 1884 plat
- The railroad reaches Eau Gallie and Melbourne, 1893
1950 to 1979
- Florida Tech's start: Brevard Engineering College, 1958
- Front Street, the 1919 fire and the move to New Haven Avenue
- The 1969 Melbourne-Eau Gallie merger
1980 to today
- Frances and Jeanne in Melbourne, September 2004
- The Indian River Lagoon at Melbourne: the 2011 blooms and after
Places, people and institutions
- Fish, ice and the railroad: Melbourne and Eau Gallie's working river, 1890s to 1920s
- William H. Gleason: the Reconstruction lieutenant governor who built Eau Gallie
Sources for this page
- National Park Service, National Register Registration Form: Green Gables, Melbourne (2016)
- Annie Mary Hartsfield, Mary Alice Griffin and Charles M. Grigg, eds., Summary Report: NASA Impact on Brevard County (Florida State University, 1966), Table 2 (1940 to 1960)
- U.S. Census Bureau, 1970 Census of Population, Number of Inhabitants: Florida, Tables 6 and 7 (1900 to 1970)
- U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 CPH-2-11, Population and Housing Unit Counts: Florida, Table 10 (1980 and 1990)
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts (2010 and 2020 census counts)