Port Canaveral Historian George Kistner to Chair Brevard County Historical Commission
By Space Coast Daily // February 27, 2020
Kistner was unanimously elected to lead the 15-member Brevard County Historical Commission
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Port Canaveral Historian George P. Kistner III will chair the Brevard County Historical Commission in the coming year.
Kistner was unanimously elected during a recent meeting to lead the 15-member commission.
Kistner is the head of the Department of Archives, History and Records for the Canaveral Port Authority. He serves as the Records and Information Manager as well as the Port’s Historian.
He is currently a member of the Florida Records Management Association, the Association of Records Management Administrators International and is a member of the Leadership Brevard Class of 2020.
Kistner served previously on the Historical Commission from February 2018 until June 2019. He was re-appointed to the Commission In January 2020 for a term effective through December 31, 2021.
The Brevard County Historical Commission is one of the oldest advisory boards in Brevard County, and County Commission members appoint the BCHC members.
The Brevard County Historical Commission was established in 1964 by the Board of County Commissioners and further formalized in 1974 and 1979 via Chapter 58 in the Brevard County Code of Ordinances to “Collect, arrange, record and preserve historical materials” and to perform other functions such as obtaining narratives of early pioneers, marking historical locations and recording historical information throughout the county.
The organization is unique to the other county advisory boards, as it serves to comply with both federal/state legislation and thus appears in the Brevard County Comprehensive Plan which addresses the mandates set by the state historic preservation office which tasks the Brevard County Historical Commission with preserving, protecting and promoting Brevard’s wealth of historical and archaeological resources.
The Historical Commission has published three volumes of books on Brevard County History as well as a publication identifying Brevard County Historical Landmarks; an annual publication of historical articles in the periodical entitled “The Indian River Journal” and video recording of oral histories of pioneer Brevard County residents.
Designation of Historical and Archaeological Landmarks by the State’s Historical Marker Program is partially funded by the Tourist Development tax in recognition of the positive impact of historic preservation upon tourism.
The Brevard County Historical Commission’s historical archive has an extensive collection of vintage newspapers, journals, photographs, records, maps and artifacts.
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Members of the Commission work with many other groups, organizations and municipalities to bring awareness of and to preserve Brevard County History through outreach programs, exhibits and lectures.
Collections are stored and archived at the Historical Records Archive located at the Central Library and Reference Center, Second Floor, 308 Forrest Avenue in Cocoa.
Regular meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at 6:15 p.m. in the Genealogy Department on the second floor of the Central Brevard Library in Cocoa. Meetings are open to the public.
Call the Historical Commission office at 321-633-1794 for more information or for appointments to research the archives and collections.
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