The museum features an impressive collection of artifacts and memorabilia from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Shuttle programs as well as special exhibits on the Women of Space, unmanned missions, and the future of space exploration. The exhibit halls also feature spacecraft parts, astronaut suits, and mementos of the Soviet space program. A special section of the museum allows visitors to experience the sounds and sensations of an actual countdown and launch from Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral. The museum also contains the original Atlas Centaur launch consoles from launch pad 36A where visitors of all ages can sit in front of active console displays, throw switches, and imagine they are controlling an Atlas launch. The museum streams a daily “Stay Curious” presentation on Facebook Live at 4:00 pm. The 20-30 minute program narrates space history with artifacts from the museum collection, provides the latest launch information from Kennedy Space Center, and presents interviews with former space workers of the Apollo and Shuttle eras. The museum is a must-see attraction, especially for visitors who have come to Titusville to observe a current launch.

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The former homesite of Brevard County civil rights martyrs Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore, has become an center for education and reflection on civil rights. The 5,000 square foot facility house artifacts and historical information about the emancipation proclamation in 1860 to the signing of the civil rights act in 1964. Mr. Moore was a Brevard County educator who later became a full-time activist and organizer for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP. After being fired for demanding pay equal to that of white educators, Moore crusaded for equal salaries for all Florida teachers without regard to race. He organized the Progressive Voters League of Florida, and his efforts to open the Democratic Party to African Americans provided new political opportunities for African American citizens all over the state. From 1941 to 1946, he served as president of the Florida State Conference of the Florida Branches of the NAACP, and then as the executive director. He and his wife Harriette were killed in a still unsolved explosion that ripped through their home on Christmas Night 1951. The Moore Cultural Center & Museum displays the dramatic story of Civil Rights and the role the Moore’s played in it. The center also hosts educational lectures, oral presentations, diversity trainings, quilting, outreach exhibits, town hall meetings to encourage racial tolerance, diversity, and equity.

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The church and cemetery at LaGrange are a true embodiment of that community’s heritage as the first pioneer settlement in the Titusville area. The present church, constructed in 1894 in the Carpenter Gothic Revival style, replaced earlier church structures, which served as the community center and school. The earliest church built on the site was a log structure, constructed in 1869. It was the first church established along the east coast of Florida between New Smyrna and Key West. The present church’s modest pine interior and stained-glass windows commemorate the founding families of the community. Adjacent to the church is a historic cemetery in which members of many of the founding families are buried, as well as prominent people from Titusville and its surroundings, including the grave of Col. Henry C. Titus, after whom the town was named. Immediately to the north is a separate cemetery section reserved for burials of African American citizens of the area, most notably the civil rights activists Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore (see Tour 3). The quiet, tree-shaded cemetery is worth exploring for its many historic markers and family grave plots.

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Built on the site of E.L. Brady’s Grocery Store that was destroyed in the 1895 fire, this 1910 commercial vernacular building now houses exhibits of Titusville’s history. The building’s own history is long and varied. E. L. Brady briefly leased the new building to the Southern Express Company. The site later reverted to its prior use, becoming the location of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store through the 1930s and ‘40s. Over time, several different drug stores, including Sego and Fulmer, occupied this building. In 1989, the North Brevard Historical Museum was opened here. It is operated by the North Brevard Historical Society, which was established in 1966 and incorporated in 1982. Be sure to step inside and see the museum’s fascinating exhibits and spend some time viewing the elaborate mural of Titusville history on its northern exterior wall.

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Located on the shore of the Indian River in downtown Titusville, this community river park is dedicated to the achievements and sacrifices of the men and women of the American Space Program. It features monuments to the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs, as well as the “In the Line of Duty Monument” honoring the space workers and astronauts who died in support of the space program. The base of each of the project mission monuments bears the names of workers who participated in each project. The Space Walk of Fame Foundation has installed plaques featuring space history and commemorating specific missions. Unique bronze tablets with the handprints of six of the original seven Mercury astronauts are also displayed here. In addition to its views of the Indian River, Spaceview Park provides an excellent viewing area for current launches from the Kennedy Space Center.

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This imposing Queen Anne style home, built in 1891, by Capt. James Pritchard, has become one of the most impressive landmarks of Titusville. It was occupied by successive generations of the Pritchard family until 2003, when it was purchased by Brevard County and restored in cooperation with the North Brevard Heritage Foundation. It is now operated as a house museum complete with period furniture, much of it donated by Titusville residents. Capt. Pritchard was an entrepreneur and civic leader who was responsible in large measure for the development of the City of Titusville. He was the first to establish a bank and operated the city’s first electric generating plant. This residence features a corner tower with a conical roof, a wrap-around porch, veranda, and second floor balcony. It is surrounded by gardens sponsored by descendants of early families who settled in Titusville and North Brevard County with plaques that record family histories and stories of the area’s development.

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