BREVARD HISTORY: Satellite Beach is Relatively New Town by Florida Standards
By Forida-Backroads-Travel.com // December 1, 2022
city of satellite beach incorporated in 1957
ABOVE VIDEO: PART 1 – The City of Satellite Beach was incorporated in 1957 and is relatively new by Florida Standards. (City of Satellite Beach video)
ABOVE VIDEO: PART 2 – The City of Satellite Beach was incorporated in 1957 and is relatively new by Florida Standards. (City of Satellite Beach video)
ABOVE VIDEO: Part 3 – The City of Satellite Beach was incorporated in 1957 and is relatively new by Florida Standards. (City of Satellite Beach video)
ABOVE VIDEO: PART 4 – The City of Satellite Beach was incorporated in 1957 and is relatively new by Florida Standards. (City of Satellite Beach video)
BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA (Florida-Backroads-Travel.com) – Satellite Beach, Florida is a relatively new town by Florida standards.
It was incorporated in 1957 and is on the barrier island south of Patrick Air Force Base and north of another relatively new town, Indian Harbour Beach. It has a population of about 10,000 and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and the Banana River on the west.
Brevard County had a severe housing shortage in the 1950s and 1960s due to the rapid build-up of employment at Cape Canaveral and later Kennedy Space Center in support of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo program designed to put a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s.
Satellite Beach became one of the residential communities built to handle this extreme demand and was founded by Percy L. Hedgecock. He and his brother-in-law, Jimmy Caudle and cousin Dumont Smith, were originally from North Carolina and came down to develop real estate in the area.
They built many of the original houses in the community and Hedgecock was the mayor of the new town from 1957 to 1973.
Most of the buildings in this little city were built after its founding in 1957, but one old building of interest is Holy Apostles Episcopal Church, located at 505 Grant Avenue.
This church was originally built in Fort Pierce, Florida in 1902 and was barged up the Indian River Lagoon some 60 miles from its original location and placed in Satellite Beach in 1959.
So even though the town was only two years old at the time, it had a historic church that is an excellent example of Carpenter Gothic architecture. It was also the first church in Satellite Beach.
One of the things that makes Florida a fun place to live is that there are many places that didn’t even exist just a few years ago. It’s easy to learn their history and even be a part of it.
And it makes you appreciate Old Florida and the back roads even more.
– Florida-Backroads-Travel.com
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