Cocoa dates to 1860, and 4 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 38% of U.S. towns · #119 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Cocoa was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1975. Below: 4 old photos and papers, maps from 1915 on, and the census since 1890.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1871.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Cocoa’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Cocoa is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #119 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Cocoa’s overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Cocoa’s 2.0 sits above most of its state (76% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B. The pre-1940 share (±1.0 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1860.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Cocoa’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Cocoa’s post office has been open since 1884. Another post office, Magnolia Point, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Magnolia Point
1871–1872
Cocoa
1884–today
18701950today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Byrd Plaza Mobile Home ParkCentral Mobile Home ParkFlorida Mobile Home ParkHarbour Mobile Home ParkOak Mobile Home ParkRockledge
Gone or out of use
Derby Street Chapelchurch
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Cocoa
Cocoa CityPine Crest
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Every building
Cocoa, building by building, 1915–1924
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Several stories circulate among Cocoa old timers as to how the town got its name. One story says that the mail used to come by river boat and was placed in an empty tin box labeled Baker's Cocoa. The box was nailed to a piling in the river next to downtown. Additionally, an early hotel in the area, located on the Indian River Lagoon, was named Cocoa House. Another story speaks of an elderly African-American woman who lived on the banks of the Indian River. She would supply hot cocoa to sailors traversing the Indian River. The sailors approaching her house were said to yell out "Cocoa!, Cocoa!", alerting the woman that they were present and wanted the beverage.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1860, according to Wikidata. Cocoa’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1890 counted 312 people here.
How does Cocoa rank for history?
Cocoa is more historic than 38% of U.S. towns, #119 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Cocoa?
4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Porcher House (listed 1986, the first).
How old are the homes in Cocoa?
2% of Cocoa’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.0 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1975.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), the Library of Congress (3), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1898
1898
