Titusville and Mims (FL) (Images of America)

Titusville, Florida, and the adjacent town of Mims have a fascinating and unique history. The area is home to a prehistoric graveyard discovered in one of the most important archeological excavations anywhere. As pioneers tamed the wilds of east Central Florida in the mid-1800s, the colorful Col. Henry Titus won the right to name a town after himself through his skill at dominoes. Later events were less anecdotal, as a bomb, which exploded in 1951 under the Mims home of educator, activist, and NAACP leader Harry T. Moore, established him as the first martyr of the Civil Rights movement. Since the United States entered the Space Age in the 1960s, Titusville and Mims residents enjoy front row seats to the launch of every manned American space flight. From amazingly well-preserved 8,000-year-old human remains through the growing pains of the American South to the future hopes offered by our exploration of space, Titusville and Mims have made international headlines.