Indigenous peoples had inhabited this area for thousands of years, as shown by discovery in 1982 of the
Windover Archeological Site, dating to the early
Archaic Period (6000 to 5000 BC). It has been designated as a
National Historic Landmark because of the significance of its remains. At the time of European encounter, this area was inhabited by the
Ais Indians, who gathered
palmetto,
cocoplum and
seagrape berries. They also
fished the Indian River, called the
Rio de Ais by
Spanish explorers. By 1760, however, the tribe had disappeared due largely to infectious disease, slave raids, and the disruptive effects of
rum. The United States acquired Florida from Spain in 1821, and the
Seminole Wars delayed settlement of portions of the new territory. This community was originally called
Sand Point, and a post office was established in 1859, although it closed a few months later.
Henry T. Titus arrived in 1867, intending to build a town on land owned by his wife, Mary Hopkins Titus, daughter of a prominent
planter from
Darien, Georgia. He laid out roads and in 1870 erected the Titus House, a large, one-story hotel next to a
saloon. He also donated land for four churches and a courthouse, the latter an effort to get the town designated as county seat. Local history says that Titus challenged Capt. Clark Rice to a game of
dominoes to decide the name of the town. Titus won the game, and Sand Point was renamed as Titusville in 1873. The city was incorporated in 1887, the year construction began on St. Gabriel's Episcopal Church, as listed in the 1972
National Register of Historic Places. At one point, Titusville was nicknamed "The
City of Churches". The Atlantic Coast, St. Johns & Indian River Railroad reached Titusville in 1885, constructed from
Enterprise, Florida. It was connected by a spur line to the
Jacksonville, Tampa & Key West Railroad at Enterprise Junction in present-day
DeBary, Florida.
Henry Flagler extended his
Florida East Coast Railroad south from
Daytona, building a station at Titusville in 1892. Many tourists arrived by railroad to enjoy the mild winter climate. In addition, the railroad was a means to ship area produce to northern markets, and the Indian River area increasingly became an agricultural and shipping center for
pineapple and
citrus goods. A wooden bridge was built east to
Playalinda Beach in 1922. In October 1918, Titusville officials were the first in the county to order closed all places of assembly, including schools, churches, and movies, to avoid spreading the
Spanish flu. Beginning in the late 1950s, the growth of
Cape Canaveral, and later the
Kennedy Space Center on
Merritt Island, stimulated growth in the community's economy, population and tourism. The association with the space program led to the city's two nicknames in the 1960s: Space City USA and Miracle City. Searstown Mall opened in 1966. Miracle City Mall opened in 1968, built on . It had of covered floor space. The jail at the county courthouse became overcrowded by the 1980s. A new jailhouse was built in
Sharpes in 1986.
Computer Shopper was founded in Titusville in 1979 by Glenn Patch, first as a tabloid. It was later expanded as a magazine of over 800 pages per issue. It was published in Titusville until September 1989. That year operations were to be moved to
New York City in a joint venture between Patch Communications of Titusville and
Ziff Davis. In January 2013, Miracle City Mall closed, a victim of a declining local economy after the termination of the
Space Shuttle program in 2012. In addition, county population had moved to the south, and changing shopping habits had adversely affected malls across the country. Because of population decline, the
USPS had closed two post offices in Titusville by 2013, and discussed closing a third. ==Geography==