Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: This community hall was constructed, circa 1941, as a barracks on the Banana River Naval Air Station. Following World War II, the Naval Air Station became Patrick Air Force Base. In 1948, this building was declared surplus, and sold to the American Homesteading Foundation (AHF), located in Melbourne Village, Florida. The building was barged down the Banana River and Indian River to Melbourne and trucked on the then two-lane U.S. Route 192 to this location. As the center of Village life, the Hall was used for AHF Trustee meetings and annual AHF Membership meetings. It was also used for square dancing, life saving and first aid classes, Women’s Guild activities, study groups for organic gardening, art and drama, plus children’s crafts, drama, and story time programs. From 1957 until 1963, it provided office space for the newly incorporated Town of Melbourne Village. After 1963, it was used for recreational activities and the Village Men’s Club. In 1996, the Town of Melbourne Village Historic Preservation Commission began a campaign to restore this historic landmark. The Town of Melbourne Village with the support of a grant from Brevard County completed the restoration in 2003.