History of Cocoa Beach, Florida
The first settlers at Cocoa Beach after the Native peoples were freed slaves who came after the Civil War, the city's history says, and the settlement was called Oceanus. Gus Edwards bought out his partners in 1923, he established the town on June 5, 1925, and it became a city in 1957. It grew fast once the missile range opened at Cape Canaveral, just to the north.
The census shows how sudden it was: 3,475 people in 1960 and 9,952 in 1970. The Canaveral Pier, built in 1962 by Richard Stottler and renamed the Cocoa Beach Pier in 1984, became the town's landmark and the center of its surf scene.
Population, census by census
| Census | Population |
|---|---|
| 1960 | 3,475 |
| 1970 | 9,952 |
| 1980 | 10,926 |
| 1990 | 12,123 |
| 2010 | 11,231 |
| 2020 | 11,354 |
Every article, in order
Each article on this site, grouped by the period it covers.
1900 to 1949
1950 to 1979
- The Cocoa Beach Pier, opened 1962
- Kelly Slater: born in Cocoa Beach in 1972, eleven world titles
- Cocoa Beach hurricanes: 1979 David, 2004 Frances and Jeanne, and the storms since
1980 to today
Places, people and institutions
- Bernard's Surf, Ramon's and the Glass Bank: Cocoa Beach on old postcards
- Patrick: the base next door to Cocoa Beach
- Sea turtles on Brevard's beaches: what the state's nest counts show
- The 1960s in Cocoa Beach: 3,475 people to 9,952
- The Astronauts Memorial Foundation and the Space Mirror, founded after Challenger
- Why Cocoa Beach worked, the editorial premise
Sources for this page
- City of Cocoa Beach, History at a Glance
- Westgate Cocoa Beach Pier, pier history
- University of Central Florida, RICHES Mosaic Interface, Cocoa Beach Collection
- U.S. Census Bureau, 1970 Census of Population, Number of Inhabitants: Florida, Tables 6 and 7
- U.S. Census Bureau, 1990 CPH-2-11, Population and Housing Unit Counts: Florida, Table 10 (1980 and 1990)
- U.S. Census Bureau, QuickFacts (2010 and 2020 census counts)