Eau Gallie, Florida Explained

Eau Gallie, Florida
Settlement Type:Neighborhood of Melbourne
Established Title:Settled
Established Date:1859
Established Title2:First settler
Established Date2:John Caroll Houston, IV
Established Title3:Incorporated
Established Date3:1860
Extinct Title:Consolidated with Melbourne
Extinct Date:1969
Founder:William Henry Gleason
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Type1:State
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2: Brevard
Subdivision Type3:City
Subdivision Name3: Melbourne
Coordinates:28.1292°N -80.63°W
Timezone:Eastern
Utc Offset:-5:00
Timezone Dst:Eastern
Utc Offset Dst:-4:00

Eau Gallie [1] is a section of the city of Melbourne, Florida, located on the city's northern side. It was an independent city in Brevard County from 1860 until 1969.

That year residents of Eau Gallie and Melbourne voted to merge their governments.[2] A subsequent vote resulted in the combined jurisdiction being named Melbourne.[2] The name and identity of Eau Gallie persists in a number of local entities and was used by the Eau Gallie Arts District Main Street, a fully accredited Florida Main Street program since 2010.

History

Eau Gallie developed as a small coastal town along the Indian River on the Florida East Coast. Brevard County, home of Eau Gallie, was named after the State Comptroller, Theodore Washington Brevard in 1855.

In 1859, the US Army sent John Caroll Houston IV to conduct a Seminole Indian census. Arriving in the Indian River area, Houston fell in love with its beauty. Houston named the area Arlington, for a community near Jacksonville where he had once lived. He took a leave of absence and applied for a soldier's land grant. Houston traveled to the area of Eau Gallie with his sons and 10 enslaved Africans. His wife joined him a year later when he had completed clearing land and building their cabin with their slaves.[3]

The area changed little during the Civil War. Former lieutenant governor, William Henry Gleason founded Eau Gallie in 1869 as he made his way to Arlington from Miami.[4] Gleason acquired land consisting of the entire area from the Indian River Lagoon to Lake Washington (about thirty square miles).[3]

Eau Gallie is commonly said to mean "rocky water", since coquina rocks were found in the area. While French: {{linktext|eau means "water" in French, gallie is not a French word and may be derived from French: {{linktext|galet ("pebble" in French). Some attribute it a Chippewa word; however, Chippewa speakers lived along the northern border of the United States and Canada.[5]

A US post office was established in 1871.[6]

The Kentucky Military Institute wintered in Eau Gallie from 1907 to 1921.

In 1920, the population had increased to about 500 people, nearly the same as adjacent Melbourne.[7]

In 1926, ten white men lynched a black man for allegedly raping a white woman. This was the last person lynched in the county. The perpetrators were never brought to justice.[8] [9]

For entertainment, the town had a "speedway" for stock car races west of Wickham Road from 1957 to about 1971.[10] [11]

Economy

Eau Gallie has original historic buildings, live oaks, and native plants located on the Indian River Lagoon. It is anchored by the Eau Gallie Civic Center, Public Library and Pier, as well as Pineapple Park which has a lighted gazebo under ancient live oaks along the Indian River Lagoon, Foosaner Art Museum/FIT, and the Renee Foosaner Education Center.

Eau Gallie is home to the Eau Gallie Arts District Main Street program (EGAD), an award-winning, fully accredited Florida and National Main Street organization.[12]

This area is also home to fine art galleries and long-established businesses, as well as new entrepreneurs that have opened new businesses in the historic little city stimulated by the presence of the Eau Gallie Arts District, which boasts an Outdoor Art Museum consisting of over 30 murals, a mosaic and sculptures. The Historic Rossetter House Museum and Gardens, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, offers home tours, rental space for private events and hosts their own events.

Historic section

Eau Gallie contains a historic area with several notable museums and houses. These include: the Advent Christian Church, Foosaner Art Museum, the Ginter Building, the Historic Rossetter House Museum, the James Wadsworth Rossetter House on the National Register of Historic Places, the Karrick Building, the Roesch House, and the Winchester Symphony House.

An area of, containing 31 houses, is petitioning for official recognition as a Historic District. The first permanent European-American settler, John Carroll Houston, arrived in 1859.[13]

Namesakes

Eau Gallie Square in the Eau Gallie Arts District is a public green space with live oaks and band shell that serves as the center of some community events. This also the location of the Rocky Water Brew Fest.

Notable people

See also

References

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: EAU Gallie Florida Home Page . 2011-10-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110807025711/http://www.eaugallie.com/ . 2011-08-07 .
  2. Frank J. . Thomas . 2017 . One or ten? The 1967 Battle over unification/consolidation in South Brevard . The Journal of the Brevard County Historical Commission . XVI . 2 . 25–31.
  3. Web site: Florida Frontiers . 3 April 2015 . Florida Historical Society . June 21, 2017.
  4. Web site: Gleason Family . University of Florida . June 29, 2017.
  5. Web site: Eau Gallie means 'rocky water'. Florida Today. Melbourne, FL. 2006. [...] from the French word "eau", meaning water, and the French word "galet," meaning pebble, yielding "pebbly water", a somewhat loose translation of "rocky water. [...] [Francis Reid, reference librarian] discounted the Indian connection, saying Chippewas were concentrated in the north central United States and southern Canada.".
  6. Web site: Brevard County . Jim Forte Postal History . June 7, 2015.
  7. News: Rick . Neale . Flu . Florida Today . Melbourne, Florida. 12A . August 15, 2020 . November 7, 2020.
  8. News: Scruggs . David C. . Scales Of Justice Hung From Tree With 1 Strong Limb . December 18, 2018 . January 15, 1989.
  9. News: Florida Frontiers "The Lynching of James Clark" . December 18, 2018.
  10. Web site: Florida Stock Car Racing History. www.karnac.com.
  11. Web site: The Orlando Sentinel from Orlando, Florida on September 11, 1971. newspapers.com.
  12. Web site: Eau Gallie . Eaugallieartsdistrict.com . 2017-06-30.
  13. News: Suzanne . Cervenka . Neighborhood seeks historic designation . . Melbourne, Florida . 2B . November 19, 2011 .
  14. News: Genzlinger . Neil . 2018-02-14 . Tom Rapp, the Voice of Pearls Before Swine, Is Dead at 70 . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-10-20 . 0362-4331.
  15. Web site: Biographical Memoirs Home . Nap.edu . 2017-06-30.
  16. News: Megan K. . Scott . Hurston's real home . . Melbourne, Florida . 1D . 6 March 2011 .