Oceanus (or Oceanus Beach) was a name used for an area developed south of present day Cocoa Beach on the narrow land between there and Satellite Beach.
Oceanus was originally established as a post office sometime after 1889, accompanied by a store operated by D.S. Ebersold, a school, a church, and a hotel, spread across four streets- Beach, Banana, Cocoa, and Main. However a lack of easy access, necessitating either navigating around the southern tip of Merritt Island or hauling over it between the Indian and Banana Rivers, eventually led to the settlement's almost total desertation. It was noted that the community proper lasted until 1902-1903, with the post office having closed by that time and the hotel deteroriated. A 1922 Cocoa Tribune article notes that by that time store had also relocated out of the area, and that out of the summer cottages, only one habitable one remained alongside half of one more and the derelict frame of a third, the rest destroyed by weather, time, and vandals.[1][7][8] A later story told by a local atests the intial community's dieoff began following the Great Freeze. (the story itself says this was in 1896; but the Great Freeze was in 1894-1895, and 1896 was presumably a slip of memory).[4]
In the early 1920s, advertisements were ran for the sale of lots at Oceanus, now specificly denoted as south of Cocoa Beach. Lots were advertised saying that in the future would come roads, power lines, and the construction of cottages, two story homes, and california bungalows.[2]. Lots were notably cheaper in Oceanus- $125 compared to $300 for lots in Cocoa Beach proper.[3]
Of note is that in 1933, workers with the Civil Works Administration began excavation of a Native American mound burial site in Oceanus under the direction of a Dr. Woodbury in connection with the Smithsonian Institute. Several complete skeletons were noted as discovered.[5]
By 1940, construction had continued on bungalows and a modern service station in the area, now entitled Crescent Beach by it's developers, Mr Arthur Buck and Mrs Ashley Buck under the Gus C. Edwards company. Both a road, Cresent Beach Drive, and a condominium known as the Crescent Beach Club Condos, retain this name in the area today.[6]
Oceanus would lend it's name to a trailer park, located off of Crescent Beach Dr, established in 1955. The park would last until 2005, when the property was sold for the development of a condominium named Garden Isle Condominiums. However, despite the clearing of land and building of a foundation outline, nothing came of the Garden Isle development. Signs would later go up for a resort condominium development by Coastmark, named Marina di Soma at Cocoa Beach. However this would also quietly vanish with no progress, with a gated community entitled Laurham Village finally making actual construction progress in 2022.[9][10]
[1] Cocoa Tribune, March 9th, 1922, "Cocoa Beach and It's Great Future"
[2] Cocoa Tribune, August 4th, 1921, "What Class of Homes Do You Want Erected At Cocoa Beach?"
[3] Cocoa Tribune, September 1st, 1921, "The Lots Are Moving -- Better Get Yours Before Prices Advance"
[4] Cocoa Tribune, November 24th, 1964, "2 Senior Citizens Recall City History"
[5] Cocoa Tribune, December 28th, 1933, "Dig In Indian Mound At Oceanus This Week"
[6] Cocoa Tribune, April 25th, 1940, "Keep Your Eye On Oceanus (Crescent Beach)"
[7] Florida Today, July 17th, 1996, "South of Oceanus lay a fickle inlet"
[8] Florida Today, April 11th, 2006, "Oceanus an early beachside escape"
[9] Florida Today, February 16th, 2005, "Condos squeeze out coastal mobile homes"
[10] Google Streetview, 2011-2022