Pre-Palm Bay (1800's) - For centuries the waters of Palm Bay have brought vitality to this area. Named for the white
sands and sabal palms along the mouth of Turkey Creek, Palm Bay has long attracted people who live off of the bounty
of the land and the river. Originally the Timucan Indians
inhabited this area, drawn here by the freshwater springs and abundant wildlife resources. Other Native American tribes that
found homes here include the Jaegas, Seminoles and AIS. Not
until the mid-nineteenth century was this Turkey Creek site settled by Caucasians. They knew this area as the town of Tillman.
Late
Nineteenth Century (1865-1899) - In the 1880s John Tillman operated
a large banana and citrus groves on the north shore of Turkey Creek. To support his
agriculture Tillman also constructed a wharf at the mouth of the creek...
Twentieth Century (1900-2001)
- Between 1910 and 1914,
Tillman became the center for a land company known as the Indian River Catholic Colony ... During the 1920s, Tillman was renamed Palm Bay after the bay, bordered with palm trees, situated at the mouth of Turkey Creek ... Starting in 1922, a 180 mile grid of 80 canals was dug to drain 40,000 acres of swampy land west
of Palm
Bay ...
