Right here on the Space Coast lies Brevard County's oldest beach community, Melbourne Beach. While officially established in 1883. the history of Melbourne Beach journeys back into the early 1500’s before the colonists even settled Jamestown, Virginia.
With Spain's control of the Bahamas, Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico, King Ferdinand sought to explore more of the Caribbean Sea. Juan Ponce de León, formerly the governor of Puerto Rico, set sail March 4th,1513 from Puerto Rico leading the first European expedition to what he proclaimed “La Florida." In 1990, a historian said that Juan Ponce de León landed within five to eight nautical miles on a barrier island with the proposed name of Ponce de León Island. That spot is what we know today as Melbourne Beach.
Other historians argue that Juan Ponce de León’s landing place cannot be known within a leeway of less than a hundred miles. The last recorded latitude coordinate, stated by Herrera in 1601 (who had the original logbook) was 30 degrees, 8 minutes. The coordinate, recorded at noon using a mariners astrolabe, was notated before the expedition continued north for the remainder of the day, anchoring that evening and going ashore. With those points, the ship would be closer to St. Augustine thus sparking the feud over the actual landing point.
The town of Melbourne Beach became established many years later in 1883 by retired Union General Cyrus Graves who purchased government land at $1.25 an acre. (In today's dollar, that's about $32 an acre.) The foundations for the town were laid in the winter of 1888 with the first house to be built, Myrtle Cottage on the corner of Ocean Avenue and Pine Street. With the necessity of bringing goods in to the fledgling community as well as ferrying people to the mainland and back, the Melbourne Beach Pier was constructed by the Indian River and Atlantic Railway Company in 1889. Once getting off the ferry, goods, women and children were placed on a small railroad push cart that was then run from the pier to the Atlantic coast along what is now Ocean Avenue. The Community Chapel, built in 1892, was erected just west of Myrtle Cottage on the north side of the road making the route along the railroad the center of the town. Once established, the town residents' main economic pursuit became agriculture in the form of commercial pineapple farming. The founding families unfortunately did not find long term success and the end came with the freeze of 1894 that destroyed all of Florida's pineapple crops.
In 1909, the town's founding fathers Lawrence Ryckman, Captain Rufus W. Beaujean, and Don R. Beaujean formed a stock company called Melbourne Beach Improvement Company which rebuilt the Melbourne Pier after it was damaged' but the company's main focus was real estate. The Melbourne Beach Improvement Company went on to build the original Town Hall in the area that is now Ryckman Park. The Town Hall building originally housed the offices of the Melbourne Beach Improvement Company before officially becoming the town hall and prost office. In 1953, a new Town Hall building was constructed while the original one floated down the river to its new location. Today it can be seen between Oak St. and Highway A1A at 2373 Oak St and is open on Saturdays for viewing.
Throughout the early 1900’s, the population of Melbourne Beach remained low despite efforts to boost tourism by way of a casino and recreation hall in hopes of building the town. It wasn't until the late 1950’s that tourists took notice of the Space Coast, thanks to the nation's rocket program in Cape Canaveral. Like many other Space Coast towns the population boomed and today over three thousand people call Melbourne Beach home.
Fortunately, a few of the buildings constructed in the 1890’s are still standing today. The Ryckman House located in Ryckman Park on Ocean Avenue was built in 1890 by the founders of the Melbourne Beach along with the Community Chapel on the north side of Ocean Avenue that has held continuous service for over 120 years.
The railroad that ran from the pier to the Atlantic Ocean has since been dismantled with Ocean Avenue taking the original route of the tracks. The original buildings that stand today reflect the historical value of the town throughout the years and furthermore add to the charm that the locals know and love.
Melbourne Beach Community Church
Melbourne Beach History Rykman House