A City born in 1888...

On the morning of Dec. 22, 1888, a group of 23 qualified electors gathered to create the "Village of Melbourne" by a spoken vote, gaining the benefits provided to towns under Florida law. By evening, those pioneer settlers had elected their first officers and had settled on a corporate seal. It depicted a pineapple plant, along with a crane and a palmetto tree.

Up to that time, the small community located on a natural harbor of the Indian River Lagoon had been known as "Crane Creek." The name reflected the importance of the harbor, formed where a freshwater creek flowed into the saltwater lagoon. At the time, barge traffic north and south along the lagoon was vital for the latest arrivals on the peninsula.
 

The importance of the waterway as an avenue of commerce and communication is pointed out by a plaque in a small park overlooking the Indian River Lagoon. The plaque reads: "To honor Peter Wright, early settler. A black freedman, the legendary sailing mailman, (who) sailed regularly from Titusville to Malabar to deliver mail to riverside settlements."

Peter Wright, like others who came after him, made his home in an area that provided easy access to a harbor and which provided fertile soil. The wilderness represented the sort of opportunity that fueled expansion following the Civil War.
 

The area began to be called "Melbourne" eight years before the town was officially established. A name was needed because a post office was being established to serve families in the area. The first postmaster, Cornthwaite John Hector, was an Englishman who spent much of his life in Melbourne, Australia, before opening a general store at Crane Creek.

Credited with suggesting the Melbourne name, however, was Mrs. R.W. Goode. Hector is said to have favored a different name. Although there is more than one version of how the naming was accomplished, it appears that straws representing various names were drawn. The "Melbourne" straw was the one drawn.
 

To the north of Melbourne, another group of settlers established the community of Eau Gallie. It also was located at a harbor where a freshwater tributary flowed into the Lagoon. Although the two cities were to become one "Melbourne" as a result of a consolidation in 1969, the "Eau Gallie" section of Melbourne remains distinct.

While Melbourne today features two "old" downtown areas, each with specialty shops and other attractions, a commercial area that no longer exists provides an interesting historical note. 

In the late 1800's, much of Melbourne's commercial activity was conducted in wooden buildings clustered along Front Street, located on Indian River Lagoon shoreline at Melbourne Harbor.

Several piers jutted into the Lagoon to receive goods and travelers. Even in the evenings, the downtown activities
lit up the shoreline as the steamboat "Rockledge" arrived with passengers. New arrivals were greeted by the pungent odor of burning insect powder.

Nearby were the "Trysting Stairs," a wooden stairway leading up a bluff at the north end of Front Street. The stairs, which provided a convenient way to reach residences situated on higher ground, became an informal meeting place which was especially popular among young people in love.
 

The scene of pioneering enterprise began to change after the railroad arrived in 1893. The Lagoon began to lose its attraction as a transportation route. Gradually, businesses were drawn toward the iron tracks perched on high ground a few blocks to the west.

Then, in 1919, the original downtown area was changed forever. A tenant in a waterfront boarding house tossed a kerosene lantern out of a second-story window, reportedly after someone shot it full of holes. The heater ignited the wooden sidewalk along Front Street. A strong wind fanned the flames, and the downtown area was quickly consumed.
 

The Melbourne Naval Air Station was commissioned as an operational training unit on Oct. 20,1942. The station, located on property that is now part of the Melbourne International Airport, was used for training newly commissioned Navy and Marine pilots.

Before the base closed on Feb. 15, 1946, more than 2,200 pilots were trained in Grumman F4F Wilcat and F6F Hellcat fighter planes. Of the pilots trained, 63 died in aerial accidents and two enlisted men died in ground-related accidents.

On Oct. 20, 2001, a State historical marker was dedicated to the honor of all military personnel as well as civilian workers who served at NAS Melbourne. The dedication especially honors the 65 men who died at the station in performance of their duty.

Those who served at NAS Melbourne and personnel who have served in all military branches are honored at the Melbourne Military Memorial Park.  The park is located between Hickory and Oak Streets, adjacent to the Honor America, Inc., museum, and was dedicated on Memorial Day, 2003.
 

For more information on Melbourne History, check Florida history sources in the public libraries and these City of Melbourne publications: A Tribute to Melbourne's Pioneers, compiled by the Melbourne Centennial Committee (1988), and The Historic Buildings of Melbourne, written by Stephen Olausen (1991).