Freeport, FL

Freeport is a city located in Brevard County, Florida. The population was 33,812 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Melbourne- Titusville- Palm Bay Metropolitan Statistical Area.

The city of Freeport was founded in 1887 by George W. Merrick and named for his friend, Frederick Freeport, who was the founder of Freeport, Illinois. The city's first business was a general store opened by Merrick and his brother-in-law A.J. McLeod.

In 1888, Merrick organized the first bank in Brevard County and it was located in Freeport. In 1890, he built the town's first hotel - The Brevard - which still stands today as a historic landmark on U.S 1 near downtown Freeport.

Merrick also developed much of what is now downtown Freeport including its original main street (now known as State Street), which became known as "The Main Street of the Sunshine State".

In 1895, Merrick built what is now known as The Brevard Hotel which served as both a hotel and headquarters for his real estate development company until it burned down in 1917; it has since been rebuilt and continues to operate today under new ownership as The Brevard Hotel & Conference Center..

It wasn't until later that other businesses began to locate in downtown Freeport including banks (the second bank opened in 1899), insurance companies (the third company opened in 1903), hardware stores (the fourth store opened in 1907), restaurants (the fifth restaurant opened in 1908) and department stores (the sixth store opened in 1912).

As more businesses began to locate downtown FrePORT over time, so did residential neighborhoods beginning with Victorian homes on North State Street followed by bungalows on East State Street then apartments on South State Street culminating with highrise condominiums along Central Avenue during the late 1960s through early 1980s when commercial development slowed down due to increased regulation from local government officials concerned about increasing traffic congestion.. . Today there are numerous residential neighborhoods located throughout downtown including Uptown/Downtown/ Riverview Heights/Oakwood Park/Southgate Place/West End Place/East End Place/Southgate Gardens among others.. .

Today there are numerous commercial properties located throughout downtown including office buildings such as One Central Plaza which houses several law firms; restaurants such as Johnny Rockets; retail stores such as Macy's; an ice rink; a movie theater; an aquarium; two hospitals: Holmes Regional Medical Center & Health First Regional Hospital & Clinics Inc.; two banks: SunTrust Bank & Citizens Trust Bank ; two churches: First Baptist Church of Titusville & Trinity United Methodist Church ; two schools: Titusville High School & Indian River Community College ; three parks: Veterans Memorial Park , Riverside Park , City Hall Park ; one golf course : Palm Bay Golf Club ; one tennis complex : Indian River Tennis Complex . There are also numerous condominium complexes such as Regency Towers I , Regency Towers II , Regency Towers III , Regency Towers IV among others... . Downtown also features several pedestrian friendly streets lined with shops and restaurants such as Federal Hwy., Orange Ave., Pineapple Ave., Atlantic Ave., Broadway Ave., Washington Ave., Jefferson St., Madison St., King St., Queen St... .