Titusville in Brevard County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Addison/Ellis Canal

Photographed by Jamie Cox, December 2, 2011

1. The Addison/Ellis Canal Marker

Inscription. In 1911, Edgar W. Ellis and J. H. Beckwith put together a consortium of developers known as the Titusville Fruit and Farm Lands Company. They acquired 22,500 acres in the western portion of the old Delespine Grant with plans to drain marshland in the St. Johns River valley, to make the land usable for agricultural purposes. By 1913, 43 miles of lateral canals had been dug and work began on the Addison/Ellis Canal, which led from Addison Creek to the outlying vegetable fields. The canal was intended to relieve flooding in the St. Johns River by diverting floodwaters to the lagoon and to transport supplies and crops from the St. Johns River to the Indian River Lagoon, ending at Addison Point. The company used the coquina rock extracted from the canal to pave roads to their fields. The marshland and sand ridges proved no problem for the equipment used, but a coquina rock ridge that runs north-south proved insurmountable, and the canal was never completed. The consortium went broke and the project was abandoned. The canal never reached a useful depth, and construction ended just east of the scrub/coquina ridge in Addison Creek.

Erected 2007

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by The Brevard County Historical Commission, The Brevard County Tourist Development Council and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-602.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Waterways & Vessels. A significant historical year for this entry is 1911.

Location. 28° 32.042′ N, 80° 48.185′ W. Marker is in Titusville, Florida, in Brevard County. It can be reached from Enchanted Forest Road. The Enchanted Forest is a Brevard County park with hiking trails. Drive to the end of Enchanted Forest Road, and hike to the marker. The marker is located about 200 feet behind the building on one of the trails to the Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 444 Columbia Boulevard, Titusville FL 32780, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s Space Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, February 9, 2018

2. The Addison/Ellis Canal Marker

After repair and restoration from fallen tree

was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 6 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Titusville Florida (approx. 2 miles away); Windover Archaeological Site (approx. 2.8 miles away); Harry Tyson Moore (approx. 5.1 miles away); Titusville Negro School (approx. 5.1 miles away); Wager's Grocery Store & Wharf - c. 1875 (approx. 5.1 miles away); Titusville Vietnam War Memorial (approx. 5.2 miles away); Titusville School House - 1900 (approx. 5.2 miles away); North Brevard County Veterans Honor Roll (approx. 5.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Titusville.

Additional keywords. failure

The Addison/Ellis Canal image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jamie Cox, December 2, 2011

3. The Addison/Ellis Canal

The canal is about 30 feet deep, but has very little water in it. It has been abandoned for almost 100 years as of 2011, and is now heavily forested.

The Addison/Ellis Canal Marker with canal behind it image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, February 9, 2018

4. The Addison/Ellis Canal Marker with canal behind it

Credits. This page was last revised on June 5, 2019. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2011, by Jamie Cox of Melbourne, Florida. This page has been viewed 2,978 times since then and 207 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 2, 2011, by Jamie Cox of Melbourne, Florida. 2. submitted on June 5, 2019, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 3. submitted on December 2, 2011, by Jamie Cox of Melbourne, Florida. 4. submitted on June 5, 2019, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.