Merritt Island, Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Merritt Island is a census designated place in Brevard County, on the Atlantic coast of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2000 census, the population was 36,090. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center are located on the northern part of Merritt Island. The area is heavily residential, with centralized light commercial and light industrial areas.
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[edit] The Island
Merritt Island, originally named "Merits Island", was originally an island and is still referred to as one. The construction of the Crawlerway in the north (for the NASA space vehicles to move to the launch pad over the Banana Creek) connects Merritt Island to a mainland peninsula. To the west and south it is separated by the Indian River Lagoon and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. The east side of Merritt Island splits and is divided by Sykes Creek and Newfound Harbor. They, in turn, are separated by the Banana River Lagoon from Cocoa Beach, Florida.
To the north, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, along with a narrow barrier island that make up Canaveral National Seashore, offer an unpopulated protected buffer area for the space shuttle launching site of Kennedy Space Center. The area is a wildlife magnet drawing huge sums of migratory birds that join the more resident wildlife including, alligators, manatees, dolphins, sea turtles, bald eagles, ospreys, bobcats, and the elusive Florida panther.
To its south and east, the Island is linked by causeways to the beaches of the barrier island that run from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station to the east of the Kennedy Space Center, past the cruise ship docks at Port Canaveral, onward to Cocoa Beach, Satellite Beach, and Indian Harbour Beach, Florida. To the west, the island connects to mainland Brevard County near Titusville, Cocoa, and to north of Melbourne, Florida.
Merritt Island's recent history dates back into the mid-1800s and centers on the growth of citrus, stressing the cultivation of pineapples and oranges. The famous Indian River oranges and grapefruits come from this sandy area. The Island became a huge draw in the 1950s and '60s as the Space Race began and NASA expanded. The construction of a barge canal to the Intracoastal Waterway from the Atlantic Ocean (for power plant oil shipments) cut off the northern half of the Island for many years and to this day remains slightly less developed with few areas remaining of cattle pastures and citrus land. Now though a 4-lane highway connects to the Space Center, moving workers rapidly from the more densely populated central and southern sections of the Island. The small towns of Merritt Island vanished with the coming of the Space Age, towns like Georgiana, Courtenay, Tropic, Fairyland, Orsino, Angel City, Wilson, Lotus, and Indianola now only live on in the names of streets and historic churches. The Island now belongs to no official city, however the central part of Merritt Island is home to the majority of the population and includes the local high school, library, and shopping district.
With the lack of a municipal government Merritt Island is left to the administrative care of the local county government and the water and sewer (where available) are handled by neighboring Cocoa, Fla. As a result, there are no city taxes and therefore few neighborhood parks. The county maintains sheriff, fire, and EMS coverage.
With Merritt Island's central location within Brevard County, between Titusville and Melbourne, the region is a commercial economic hub with the crowded Beaches to the east and the older mainland cities of Rockledge and Cocoa to the west.
The origin of Merritt Island's name is a matter of some debate. Most agree it's either named for a Spanish surveyor, Captain Pedro Marratt, or for a Revolutionary war hero, a Frenchman by the name of Murat.
[edit] Airports
Merritt Island Airport is a public general aviation airport located on South Merritt Island and run by the Titusville-Cocoa (TICO) Airport Authority.
[edit] Geography
Merritt Island is located at (28.357901, -80.684734)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 121.9 km² (47.0 mi²). 45.7 km² (17.6 mi²) of it is land and 76.1 km² (29.4 mi²) of it (62.49%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 36,090 people, 14,955 households, and 10,049 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 789.5/km² (2,044.6/mi²). There were 15,813 housing units at an average density of 345.9/km² (895.9/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 90.22% White, 5.31% African American, 0.41% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.68% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.83% of the population.
There were 14,955 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.9% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.8% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 19.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP was $43,532, and the median income for a family was $52,388. Males had a median income of $41,393 versus $25,787 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $23,961. About 7.2% of families and 9.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.8% of those under age 18 and 7.0% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Landmarks
- Georgiana Church and Cemetery, Historic 19th Century
- Hacienda del Sol, large historic agricultural estate on South Merritt Island (home still exists, property is now housing development)
- Old Haulover Canal
- NASA Kennedy Space Center
- Mather's Bridge Restaurant (now closed), previously Hacienda del Sol's workers mess hall, was joined by former field workers quarters (since destroyed) across South Tropical Trail at Mather's Bridge
- Merritt Island Airport
- Merritt Island Barge Canal
- Merritt Island Dragon (destroyed by owner and county neglect)
- Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge
- Merritt Island Rotary Park Nature Trail and Center
- Pine Island Conservation Area
- Ulumay Wildlife Sanctuary
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
| Merritt Island launch sites |
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| Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (all except LC-39) Kennedy Space Center (LC-39) |
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| Cities and communities of Brevard County, Florida | |||||||||
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