Brevard Chapter, Florida
Sons of the American Revolution

Archaeological excavations using carbon-dating show Stone Age civilizations lived here over 7,000 years ago.

Brevard first appeared on a chart called the "Cantino Map" as early as 1502. In a distorted rendering of Florida this area appeared as a large bump on the east coast that represented Capo de Canaveral, or "Cape of Wild Canes."

The Spanish claimed this area in 1565 and called the Indian River the "River of Ais" after a local tribe. In 1763 Florida became an English Colony. Five years later the first major Developer, a Scottish Physician named Andrew Turnbull, established a settlement of 60,000 acres, stretching from New Smyrna to Cape Canaveral.

During the American Revolution Brevard was the scene of several naval battles that were fought along the St. Johns River. Our Southern forces attacked the loyalists who had deserted from Georgia and the Carolinas and settled here to help set up supply lines for the British. Since the Seminoles sided with the enemy the Continental forces never won a single land engagement here.

Founded in 1844 and named after Theodore Washington Brevard. The area is also known as the Space Coast, since it hosts the Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Patrick Space Force Base. All orbital launches from American soil carrying NASA astronauts have departed from Brevard County.