Cape Canaveral, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Cape Canaveral, Florida
City
City of Cape Canaveral
Cape Canaveral City Hall
Seal
Nickname(s):  "The Space Between" or "Space City"
Motto(s):  Sun, Space, and Sea
Location in Brevard County and the state of Florida
Cape Canaveral, Florida Location in the United States
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Brevard
Incorporated	May 16, 1963
Government
• Type	Council-Manager
Area
• City	2.26 sq mi (5.85 km2)
• Land	2.22 sq mi (5.75 km2)
• Water	0.04 sq mi (0.10 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population  (2020)
• City	9,972
• Density	4,487.85/sq mi (1,732.79/km2)
• Metro	543,376
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	32920
Area code(s)	321
FIPS code	12-10250
GNIS feature ID	0279995

Cape Canaveral is a city in Brevard County, Florida. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 9,912 at the 2020 US census.

History

After the establishment of a lighthouse in 1848, a few families moved into the area and a small but stable settlement was born. As the threat of Seminole Indian attacks became increasingly unlikely, other settlers began to move into the area around the Indian River. Post offices and small community stores with postal facilities were established at Canaveral, Canaveral Harbor and Artesia. It is thought the Artesia post office was so named for the ground water of artesian springs that are prevalent in the area.

In 1890, a group of alumni from Harvard University students established a hunters gun club called the Canaveral Harvard Club with a holding of over 18,000 acres (7,300 ha). Their game hunts helped clear the wilderness for other settlers to move into the area.

In the early 1920s, a group of Orlando journalists invested more than $150,000 in the beach acreage that now encompasses the area of presidentially named streets in Cape Canaveral. They called their development Journalista (now Avon-by-the-Sea) in honor of their trade. A wooden bridge linking Merritt Island with the area had just been constructed. The developers anticipated a growing number of seasonal visitors.

At that time, fishermen, retirees, and descendants of Captain Mills Burnham —the original official keeper of the Cape Canaveral Light—resided in the northern part of the present city.

Due to the hardships caused by the Great Depression, many investors defaulted on their holdings. Much of this land was recovered by newspaper owner R.B. Brossier and his son, Dickson, after they sold their Orlando home and used the remaining $4,500 to purchase much of the Avon area.

In the 1930s, archaeologists from Yale University surveyed various Native American sites in the area.

In 1951, anthropologist Irvine Rouse of Yale University visited the area and performed research.

By 1958, the workforce and the economy had grown with the space exploration program. At that time, state statute allowed an adjacent city to annex an unincorporated area without a vote of the residents. Local property owners were concerned that Cocoa Beach might annex them. Landowners felt that Cocoa Beach had more city debt and higher land taxes than they wished to support.

The City of Cape Canaveral started in 1961, when a committee was formed to incorporate. Due to paperwork delays the city charter was made into bill 167 and approved by the Florida State Legislature in Tallahassee on May 16, 1963.

In 1967, the annual Sun and Space Festival was started. It had flyovers and a parade that included a stop at the newly opened Museum of Sunken Treasure. This contained artifacts from the 1715 Treasure Fleet.

An annual celebration was started on October 9, 1990, The Patriot's Day Parade in honor of the last naval battle of the American Revolution that was fought off the Cape Canaveral coast in 1783.

In 2000, The Washington Post reported that the city's divorce rate was the highest in the country, 22%. It was the same rate in 2018.

At a Heritage Day event in March 2013 part of the festivities for the city's 50th anniversary included author Jay Barbree who delivered an oral history of the early days. On the 50th anniversary date of May 16, 2013, a 50-year time capsule was sealed and a pictorial postmark of the city's anniversary was stamped.

In 2017, the city won "Most Fit City" in the Mayor's Fitness Challenge, hosted by Health First.

Geography

The city of Cape Canaveral is located on a barrier island on the Atlantic coast of Florida. It is due south of the geographical feature Cape Canaveral. It is separated from the mainland by the Banana River, Merritt Island and the Indian River from east to west.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²). 2.3 square miles (6.0 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.10 km²) of it (0.85%) is water.

Climate

Cape Canaveral has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa in the Köppen climate classification). It has hot wet summers, and warm winters with moderate rainfall. In late summer and fall tropical cyclones can brush the area. On August 20, 2008, Tropical Storm Fay dropped 20.03 inches (50.9 cm) of rain.

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 9,972 people, 5,951 households, and 2,633 families residing in the city.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 9,912 people, 5,431 households, and 2,684 families residing in the city.

Economy

Cape Canaveral has a cross section of both single family and multifamily residences. A number of hotels and time shares are located in the area. Many residents work in the service industry, engineering firms, and at the Kennedy Space Center to the north.

Workforce

In 2007, the average size of Cape Canaveral's labor force was 5,824. Of that group, 5,533 were employed and 291 were unemployed, for an unemployment rate of 5%.

Housing

In 2008, no building permits were issued. This was down from five permits for six units in 2007, which was down from 19 permits for 42 units in 2006.

The median home price in 2007 was $215,000.

Tourism

Tourism plays a major role in the economy as in any Florida beachside community. The largest hotel in Brevard County is located in the city. It has 284 rooms and 30,000 square feet (2,800 m²) of meeting space.

Infrastructure

Transportation

The primary transportation is by road.

• SR A1A, known officially as Astronaut Boulevard in the central and northern parts of the town and Atlantic Avenue in the southern parts, is the main road, running north–south within the city. Major intersections include George King Boulevard (diamond interchange), Central Boulevard, and Atlantic Avenue.
• SR 528 is a controlled-access highway that connects the city with the mainland. It is concurrent with SR A1A until George King Boulevard, where SR 528 then ends, and SR A1A becomes a normal surface road.

Public transportation is provided by Space Coast Area Transit (SCAT). The #9 Beach Trolley bus line circles through Cape Canaveral and runs down to Cocoa Beach and connects with other SCAT bus lines serving Brevard County.

Water

Residents obtain potable water from the city of Cocoa. A single potable water line from Cocoa runs under the Sykes Creek Bridge at Sea Ray Drive.

Notable people

• Allison Anders, raised in the city, filmed Things Behind the Sun in Brevard County in 2001
• Mills O. Burnham, member of the Florida House of Representatives. Moved here in 1853 and was keeper of the Cape Canaveral Light for 30 years

Sister cities

• Kloten, Zurich, Switzerland
• Sagres, Faro, Portugal
• Guidonia Montecelio, Lazio, Italy
• Fonte Nuova, Lazio, Italy
• Ithaca, Kefallinia, Greece

Beach in Cape Canaveral, Florida

See also

In Spanish: Cabo Cañaveral (Florida) para niños