Myrtle Cottage
Posted by: 
Markerman62
N 28° 04.110 W 080° 33.773
17R E 542951 N 3104867
On the site of the former cottage.
Waymark Code: WMN9V0
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 01/27/2015
Views: 12
Constructed on this site in 1888, Myrtle Cottage was built by Mrs. Hannah Cummings and her daughter Grace, and was the first house in the area known as Melbourne Beach. The house's construction was made difficult by the lack of roads or docks, and while it was being built the Cummings family camped on the beach at the nearby House of Refuge, a shipwreck lifesaving station. After its completion, the family lived in the large house and took in boarders, including Major Cyrus Graves, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Whiting, Mr. Alfred Wilcox, and others who helped found Melbourne Beach. Myrtle Cottage was always an important part of the community. Church services and Sunday school classes were held there until 1892 when the Community Chapel was built. However if repairs were needed to the chapel or bad weather threatened, church services and classes were temporarily held in Myrtle Cottage. In later years the house served as a rooming house for students from the Florida Institute of Technology. In 1982, the house caught fire and burned to the ground as a large number of people watched in dismay. There are still residents of Melbourne Beach who fondly remember the "Grand Old Building."
Marker Number: F-688
Date: 2010
County: Brevard
Marker Type: Roadside
Sponsored or placed by: The Brevard County Historical Commission, The Brevard County Tourist Development Council and the Florida Department of State
Website: Not listed
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