A history of Rockledge,
since 1887
Postcards, papers and photographs of Rockledge from public archives, woven together by decade. Neighbors fill in the gaps.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Rockledge was officially founded on August 7, 1887, making it the oldest incorporated municipality in Brevard County. The name Rockledge, attributed to Gardner S. Hardee, an early settler, comes from the many ledges of coquina rock that line the Indian River. Other sources refer to a man named Cephas Bailey Magruder, who built his home after settling in the area in 1876 near the Indian River. Magruder called his home "the rockledge home" and the name was eventually attributed to the whole town. It was originally referred to as Rock Ledge; the two-word name persisted through the 19th century.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowFinish Rockledge’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewIndian River at Rockledge, c. 1875: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Famous people from Rockledge
See all 11 →
Rockledge, decade by decade
1990s
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Indian River at Rockledge (c. 1875) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6) and the Library of Congress (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.