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Melbourne FL Real Estate

Home to Eau Gallie, Viera, Suntree, & Palm Shores

One fine morning on December 22, 1888, a group of 23 qualified electors gathered, to create the "Village of Melbourne" by a spoken vote, to reap the benefits provided to towns under Florida law.

By night fall, they had elected their first officer and had settled on a seal, consisting of a pineapple plant, whooping crane, & palmetto tree.

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

Eight years before the town was officially established, people began calling the area "Melbourne". A post office was being built to serve area families and a name was needed. Cornthwaite John Hector was the first postmaster, an Englishman who spent the majority of his life in Melbourne, Australia, before the opening of his general store in Crane Creek. Mrs. R. W. Goode was the one that was actually accredited with suggesting the Melbourne name, it is said that Hector favored a different name. There will always be more than one version of how the naming was accomplished. The most common story dictates that straws representing various names were drawn and the "Melbourne" straw as the one picked.

By the late 1880's, much of Melbourne's commercial activity was operated out of wooden buildings which were clustered up and down Front Street. Front Street was located on the Indian River Lagoon shoreline at Melbourne Harbor, and several piers went up in the Lagoon to receive goods and travelers. In 1893, the railroad arrived and the pioneering enterprise began to change, and the Lagoon began to lose its attraction as a transportation route. Slowly, businesses were attracted toward the iron tracks nestled on high ground to the west a few blocks away.

One day, tragedy struck hard in this quiet little settlement, and the original downtown area was forever changed. It is said that a renter in a waterfront boarding house hurled a kerosene lantern out of a second-story window, reportedly after someone shot it full of holes. The wooden sidewalk along Front Street was ignited, and a strong wind fueled the flames; causing the downtown area to be engulfed in flames, forever changing the original downtown area.

Source: Melbourne Centennial Committee and The Historic Buildings of Melbourne, written by Stephen Olausen.

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Melbourne Real Estate Facts

Melbourne merged with Eau Gallie in 1969.
Today, the City is approximately 35.4 square miles in size, with about 75% Melbourne Real Estate land in use. The population is growing by about 2% each year, and currently stands at approximately 74,644.

Melbourne International Airport, which consists of approximately 2,800 acres, serves the county with six airlines providing service to more than 500,000 passengers per year.

Residents of Melbourne typically live in two-income households. Most are homeowners in suburban neighborhoods or in condominium complexes. A portion of the population lives in multi-family structures.

Melbourne Subdivisions

Are you interested in real estate located in the
following subdivisions? Let me know!

Garrett's Run Condos
Grand Haven
Grand Oaks
Indian River Isles
Lansing Ridge
Lake Washington
Kingsmill
River Preserve
Magnolia Lakes
Eagle Harbor
Meadow Lakes
Lake Washington Townhomes
Spring Lakes Homes & Condos

Portafino Bay
Tamarind Estates
The Preserve at Lake Washington
Varnum Park
Westbrooke
Sonesta Walk Townhouse
Jade Tree
Harbor Beach Club Townhomes
Averill Farms Condos
Ocean Dunes Condominium at Aquarina
Osprey Villas East
Riversedge Condominium
Saltaire Condominium