Cape Canaveral, Florida | ||
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City | ||
City of Cape Canaveral | ||
Cape Canaveral City Hall
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Location in Brevard County and the state of Florida |
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Location in the United States | ||
Coordinates: 28°23′18″N 80°36′13″W / 28.38833°N 80.60361°WCoordinates: 28°23′18″N 80°36′13″W / 28.38833°N 80.60361°W | ||
Country | United States of America | |
State | Florida | |
County | Brevard | |
Incorporated | 1963 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Council-Manager | |
• Mayor | Bob Hoog | |
• City Manager | David L. Greene | |
• Mayor Pro Tem | Brendan McMillin | |
Area | ||
• City | 2.3 sq mi (6 km2) | |
• Land | 2.3 sq mi (6 km2) | |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0 km2) | |
Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• City | 9,912 | |
• Density | 4,300/sq mi (1,700/km2) | |
• Metro | 543,376 | |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 32920 | |
Area code(s) | 321 | |
FIPS code | 12-10250 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0279995 | |
Website | www |
Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 9,912 at the 2010 United States Census. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
After the establishment of a lighthouse in 1848, a few families moved into the area and a small but stable settlement was born. As the threat of Seminole Indian attacks became increasingly unlikely, other settlers began to move into the area around the Indian River. Post offices and small community stores with postal facilities were established at Canaveral, Canaveral Harbor and Artesia. It is thought the Artesia post office was so named for the ground water of artesian springs that are prevalent in the area.
In 1890 a group of Harvard Alumni students established a hunters gun club called the Canaveral Harvard Club with a holding of over 18,000 acres (7,300 ha). Their game hunts helped clear the wilderness for other settlers to move in.
In the early 1920s, a group of Orlando journalists invested more than $150,000 in the beach acreage that now encompasses the area of presidentially-named streets in Cape Canaveral. They called their development Journalista (now Avon-by-the-Sea) in honor of their trade. A wooden bridge linking Merritt Island with the area had just been constructed. The developers anticipated a growing number of seasonal visitors.
At that time, fishermen, retirees, and descendants of Captain Mills Burnham —the original official keeper of the Cape Canaveral Light—resided in the northern part of the present city.
Due to the hardships caused by the Great Depression, many investors defaulted on their holdings. Much of this land was recovered by newspaper owner R.B. Brossier and his son, Dickson, after they sold their Orlando home and used the remaining $4,500 to purchase much of the Avon area. It was their dream that a port would be developed and a direct route to Orlando would be constructed.