Titusville, Florida: City Guide

Titusville sits on the Indian River in Brevard County, across the water from the Kennedy Space Center launch pads, and it has been the county seat since 1879.

The state historical marker at the Historic Brevard County Courthouse, 506 South Palm Avenue, records that Brevard County was founded in 1855 and that Titusville became the county seat in 1879; the first courthouse, a two-story wood building, went up in 1882 on land donated by Titusville founder Col. Henry Titus, and its concrete replacement opened in March 1913 (Florida Division of Historical Resources markers, Brevard County). The National Register context for Titusville adds that county voters overwhelmingly chose Titusville over Eau Gallie or Rockledge for the seat (Titusville Multiple Property Group form).

The Census Bureau's 2024 place gazetteer lists Titusville city at 29.15 square miles of land and 4.963 square miles of water (2024 Census gazetteer). Brevard County describes Space View Park in downtown Titusville as less than 15 miles directly across from the Kennedy Space Center launch pads (Brevard County Space View Park page). Sand Point Park sits at the juncture of U.S. 1 and the Max Brewer Causeway (City of Titusville Sand Point Park page).

City Hall is at 555 S Washington Avenue, main phone 321-567-3775 (City of Titusville). For a first stop, the city points visitors to the Titusville Welcome Center at 419 South Hopkins Avenue, open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with trail information, maps and tips on kayak and boat launch areas and rocket launch viewing sites (City of Titusville Welcome Center page).

Titusville took its name in 1873, after its founder won a domino match against a rival over who would rename the settlement of Sand Point, according to the City of Titusville.

The city's history page dates the first post office in the area to 1859, at what was then called Sand Point, and the town's founding to 1867, when Colonel Henry Theodore Titus came ashore on the Indian River and built the Titus House hotel on land owned by his wife Mary (City of Titusville history page). The page says Titusville might have been called Riceville, but Titus beat Capt. Clark Rice at dominoes for the right to rename the town. In the 1880s Titusville became the birthplace of commercial shipments of Indian River citrus from Dummitt Grove, and its first railroad station was built in 1892.

Official sources give different incorporation dates. The City of Titusville history page gives 1887 (City of Titusville), while the National Register's Titusville Multiple Property Group form says the town remained unincorporated until 1886, when local residents (men only, the form notes) voted 58 to 2 for incorporation that November (National Register context form). The same Titusville form records 200 residents by 1880 and a December 1895 fire that destroyed the major portion of the central business core, then concentrated between Broad and Julia Streets on Washington Avenue.

Present-day Arthur Dunn Airpark opened in 1927 as an emergency landing field for airmail; during World War II a boat company built hundreds of landing craft at the yacht basin, and a Navy fighter field south of Titusville became today's Space Coast Regional Airport; and the 1960s Kennedy Space Center boom brought the first motels, the first multi-rise apartment building, new golf courses and shopping centers (City of Titusville history page).

The Census Bureau's ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates count 49,385 people in Titusville, with a median age of 42.2 (ACS 2024 DP05 for Titusville city).

In that release, 23.2 percent of Titusville residents were 65 or older. Median household income was $66,192, and Titusville workers averaged 24.0 minutes to get to work (ACS 2024 DP03 for Titusville city).

The survey counts 23,595 housing units in Titusville, 19,567 of them occupied. Owners held 72.1 percent of occupied homes, the median owner-occupied value was $266,600 and the median gross rent was $1,334 a month (ACS 2024 DP04 for Titusville city).

Titusville runs on the council-manager form under a present city charter adopted June 3, 1963: five council members elected citywide set policy, and a city manager they appoint supervises the departments.

Titusville voters elect five council members to four-year staggered terms in non-partisan, at-large elections, and the mayor is a council member elected the same way (City of Titusville council-manager page). The council adopts ordinances and resolutions, approves the budget and sets the tax rate; the city manager is appointed on merit, has no fixed term and serves at the council's pleasure. Regular council meetings are on the second and fourth Tuesday of the month in the second-floor Council Chamber of Titusville City Hall, 555 S Washington Avenue, and the council office line is 321-567-3702 (City of Titusville City Council page).

Water comes from the city itself. The city's annual drinking water quality report covering 2024 says the city draws groundwater from the Surficial and Floridan aquifers, treats it at the Mourning Dove Water Treatment Plant, which averaged 4.464 million gallons a day in 2024, and buys less than 2 percent of its water from the City of Cocoa (Titusville water quality report covering 2024). Utility customer service is at 321-383-5791, Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; for a water main break or sewer backup the city lists Public Works Field Operations at 321-567-3883 during working hours (Monday through Thursday, 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) and 321-383-5657 after hours (Titusville utility service page).

Last verified: October 21, 2026, against the City of Titusville history, charter, council, utility and park pages, the National Register context form, the Brevard courthouse marker, and the Census and FEMA records for Titusville.

The City of Titusville lists seven launch viewing spots, most of them riverfront parks, and the downtown area holds the 1891 Pritchard House and the Historic Brevard County Courthouse.

The City of Titusville lists seven launch viewing spots on its rocket launch page: Riverfront Park, the Max Brewer Bridge, the Municipal Marina, Rotary Riverfront Park, Sand Point Park, Space View Park and William J. Manzo Park (City of Titusville rocket launch page). Space View Park, at 8 Broad St, is a 2.63-acre county river park with historical monuments, a boardwalk and a sheltered 85-foot fishing pier, and the county keeps the park and restrooms open when a launch is scheduled after normal hours (Brevard County Space View Park page). Launch dates are live information that this page does not list; the city says Titusville Welcome Center staff can direct visitors to launch points across the area (Welcome Center page).

Sand Point Park, at 10 E Max Brewer Causeway, is a 29.88-acre river park that is home to the Titusville Little League, with the Astronaut Memorial near its south entrance, a 0.66-mile exercise trail, 11 pavilions and a large pavilion seating 250 (City of Titusville Sand Point Park page). The city's parks list gives a different address for Sand Point Park, 101 N. Washington Avenue, and groups it with city-owned parks maintained by Brevard County. The same list includes Chain of Lakes Park at 2300 Truman Scarborough Way (county owned and maintained) and Enchanted Forest Sanctuary at 444 Columbia Blvd. (state owned, maintained by Brevard County) (City of Titusville parks list).

Downtown, the Historic Pritchard House is a Queen Anne house built for Captain James Pritchard in 1891; Pritchard family descendants lived there until Brevard County bought it in 2005, and the North Brevard Heritage Foundation, which helped the county restore it, oversees its operation as a house museum, with tours by reservation at 321-607-0203 (City of Titusville Pritchard House page).

Current changes in Titusville include work in the downtown redevelopment district, a newly adopted fiscal 2027 budget and city notices on utility reconnects and trash service.

The Titusville Community Redevelopment Area was established on October 12, 1982, by ordinance 66-1982; it is dedicated to revitalizing the historic downtown and covers approximately 300 acres; its current redevelopment plan was adopted in October 2022, and its project list includes the Broad Street Improvements Project and grants for beautification, interior renovation and permit and impact fees (Titusville CRA page). The CRA's Redevelopment Planner is at 321-567-3860.

Those Titusville notices come from the city's home page (City of Titusville home page). Under the reconnect notice, for service cut off for nonpayment, a full payment made after 1:00 p.m. from November 15, 2026 is reconnected the next business day. The Neighborhood Services Department also posts a notice to extremely low and very low income senior homeowners in Titusville who need critical home repairs.

Titusville is NFIP community 125152 with a Community Rating System class 7, which FEMA lists as a 15 percent flood insurance discount inside the special flood hazard area.

FEMA's community status book shows the City of Titusville at CRS class 7 since May 1, 2011, with a 15 percent discount inside the special flood hazard area and 5 percent outside it, and a currently effective flood map dated January 29, 2021; Titusville's first flood insurance rate map dates to June 16, 1972 (FEMA NFIP record for Titusville).

For hurricane warnings, evacuation and shelters, the Brevard County safety section covers AlertBrevard, hurricane shelters and the special needs registry, sandbags and mobile home evacuation. The city's after-hours emergency line for a water main break or sewer backup is 321-383-5657 (Titusville utility service page).