John T Manning

North Brevard County John T Manning

The early pioneer settlement of LaGrange Community in Brevard County in 1858 pre-dated the missile launches on North Merritt Island by just one hundred years. During that span of time, the northern part of Brevard County underwent significant growth and development-homes were built, land farmed, businesses established, and churches built. The citrus industry provided North Brevard with a productive agricultural economy that remained strong until the advent of the space age. With the federal government's purchase of the land north of the port of Canaveral in the 1950s, the Cape Canaveral Missile Test Center was established. Later, when more land was needed, the Kennedy Space Center was built on North Merritt Island. Many North Brevard towns, communities, and homesteads disappeared when the governmental acquisition of land forced residents to relocate, but it was this new era of technology that helped shift North Brevard from the farm age to the space age.