Library of Florida History

Housed inside the historic Cocoa Post Office building at 435 Brevard Avenue, the Library of Florida History serves as the headquarters and primary research archive of the Florida Historical Society, one of the oldest cultural organizations in the state. The Florida Historical Society itself dates back to 1856, making it older than the state’s current constitution, though the organization’s presence in Cocoa is more recent. The Society moved its collections into the former post office building, a Works Progress Administration project completed in 1939, and formally established the Library of Florida History at this Historic Cocoa Village location in 1997.

The building itself is a piece of local history worth noting on its own. Built during the Depression era as part of the WPA’s public works program, the post office served the growing town of Cocoa for decades before postal operations moved elsewhere and the Florida Historical Society took over the space. Today the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and stands as one of the most architecturally distinctive structures in the historic downtown, its WPA era stonework and civic proportions setting it apart from the wood frame commercial buildings that surround it.

Inside, the library holds one of only two archival collections in Florida dedicated specifically to preserving paper documents relating to the state’s history, alongside books, photographs, maps, and manuscripts spanning Florida’s Spanish colonial period through the twentieth century. Researchers, genealogists, students, and authors use the collection to trace family histories, verify historical claims, and dig into topics ranging from Native Florida history to the state’s role in early aerospace development. The Florida Historical Society also publishes the Florida Historical Quarterly, one of the longest running academic journals dedicated to a single state’s history, and produces the Florida Frontiers radio and television program.

Access to the library is by appointment, reflecting its function as a working research archive rather than a walk in museum. The facility is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. for general business, with Saturday research visits available by advance appointment only. There is no research fee or membership requirement to use the collection, though the Society welcomes donations and memberships to support its ongoing preservation work. Staff, including the Society’s executive director, are reachable by phone for researchers who want to confirm the library holds materials relevant to their project before making the trip to Cocoa Village.

For visitors walking the historic district, the Library of Florida History is easy to overlook next to the shops and restaurants nearby, but its presence reflects Cocoa’s role as a hub for Florida history well beyond Brevard County’s own boundaries. Anyone with a serious interest in the state’s past, not just the local county’s, will find the trip worthwhile, and the WPA era building alone is worth a stop for anyone touring Cocoa Village’s historic architecture.