Isaac Campbell Community Center and Park

Remembering the distinctive history of Joynerville

From its very beginning as a city, Titusville was home to a large and vibrant African American community. Opening independent businesses and working on the railroad and in the citrus groves, the community was long centered along South St.

There are few architectural remains of the thriving nineteenth-century African American neighborhood of Titusville known as Joynerville. From the Isaac Campbell Community Center, you can look over the area that was once filled with houses, businesses, places of entertainment, parks, and an ornamental pond. The layout of the streets was designed by J. Francis LeBaron, a civil and railroad engineer. This neighborhood extended southward from South Street between the Indian River and DeLeon Street on the west. Among the most prominent residents and businessmen of the Joynerville area was Andrew Jackson Gibson, a former slave who settled in Titusville in 1876. In 1880 he became Brevard County's first jailer and also worked as the supervisor of the only public road in the county. In 1886 Andrew and his brother Edward founded the Missionary Baptist Church. Today the church is known as The Greater Bethlehem Baptist Church and continues to play a central role in the religious life of Titusville's African American community. 

Audio

Location

701 South St., Titusville, FL 32780

Metadata

“Isaac Campbell Community Center and Park,” Explore Historic Titusville FL, accessed March 29, 2024, https://history.titusville.com/items/show/22.