Well it is finally here! After several years of research the book I have been working on with Roy Laughlin and Robert Kronowitt is now completed and in print! The full title is Not To Be Missed, Cocoa's Architectural Heritage and Its People 1880-1950. It is quite a tome at 398 pages, and will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about the historic structures in Cocoa. This book's premise is that history is all around us, influences our daily routines, and is a tangible, but often unrealized link to people long gone. As Roy states so well, "Houses, commercial, and public buildings are like a conch shell. They have survived the living animals that made them, and have the ability to persist indefinitely after their creators, like shells in coquina."
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| Front Cover |
This book is the result of careful research that ranged from interviews with long time residents to an untold amount of consultation with original sources such as deed books and early newspapers. In many cases contemporary accounts of a structure's construction was found in the Cocoa Tribune so exact dates, builders and architects can now be assigned to previously anonymous buildings. These records also revealed the stories of our area's earliest residents and their level of involvement in creating the community we enjoy today. Every important section of Cocoa is included in this book with coverage on the business district, schools, the river front, the land boom neighborhoods north of town and the African American community.
In addition to all the information the book is illustrated with the wonderful sketches of artist Robert Kronowitt and many reproductions of original photos, advertisements and plat maps.
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| Back Cover |
Not To Be Missed is available from Roy via email at
notttobemissed.2001@gmail.com or for purchase at the Florida Historical Society or Travis Hardware in Cocoa Village. Other outlets for the book will likely be added over time.The price is $42.35 plus tax.
