Palm Bay becomes a city, 1960
Palm Bay was incorporated as a town in 1925. In 1960, under Mayor Harry Pollak, it was incorporated as a city with 2,808 residents, according to the city's timeline. Its first school, fire station, bank and library followed between 1966 and 1984.
Palm Bay has been incorporated twice. The first time, according to the National Register nomination for St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, the Legislature granted Tillman’s citizens a charter as the Town of Palm Bay in 1925 (that story is here). The second came in 1960: the City of Palm Bay’s timeline records that “under the leadership of Mayor Harry Pollak and the Town Council, Palm Bay continues to grow and is incorporated as a city with 2,808 residents.”
The 1960 census counted exactly that, 2,808 people. Ten years later it counted 6,927.
The new city, by the city’s count
The city’s own timeline marks the milestones that followed:
| Year | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1963 | U.S. Route 1 completed |
| 1966 | The city’s first school, Palm Bay Elementary, built |
| 1967 | Fire Station 1 built on Palm Bay Road; Harris-Seybold acquires Radiation, Inc., known today as Harris Corporation |
| 1974 | The city’s first bank and motel built |
| 1984 | First city library opens on Port Malabar Boulevard |
| 1990 | Palm Bay becomes the most populous city in Brevard County, with 62,632 residents |
How a town of 2,808 became the county’s biggest city is on our population page.
Further Reading
- Florida: A Short History by Michael Gannon
Sources
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