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Voyage back into the 1800s on a
45 minute "Living History" cruise.
Learn about the:
- Native Americans who were the original inhabitants of our shores
- Historic sites on the Titusville waterfront
- Daring Confederate blockade runners, who eluded the Federal Navy to land their cargo at Sand Point
- Steamboat travel that opened up the Indian River to pioneers and tourists
- The hardships and adventures of early settlers
- Establishment of NASA's spaceport
Narrated by period dressed crew
Hear a first-hand account of pioneer days and maritime history as you view historic sites and homes along the downtown waterfront. Follow in the route of 19th century sea captains who sailed the open waters of the Indian River in sloops, schooners, and steamboats.
The Indian River Historical Cruise offers a window to our community heritage through the eyes and experiences of two of its best-known maritime pioneers Capt. Thomas W. Lund and Capt. Richard P. Paddison.
Born in 1831 in Kentucky, Thomas W. Lund founded the Pioneer Steamboat Line in Jacksonville, Florida and was determined to navigate the St. Johns River as far south as possible. In 1877 he brought his steamboat Pioneer to Titusville and operated from Sand Point as the first commercial steamboat service. He opened the Lund House Hotel at Main Street (destroyed in the 1895 fire) and went on to serve as a Titusville Alderman and Mayor.
Richard P. Paddison, a North Carolina veteran of the Civil War, brought his family to Titusville in 1886 on one of the first passenger trains of the new JT&KW railroad line from Enterprise. He was 47 at the time and the Captain of the steamer Rockledge, which he owned and brought to Florida to link up with the JT&KW as the flagship of the new Indian River Steamboat Line. He ran steamboats on the Indian River for more than a decade before Henry Flagler's East Coast Railroad put them out of business.
Titusville, Florida's Historic Walking Tour.
North Brevard Historical Museum.
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