I was exploring Cocoa's historic district when I discovered this hardware store with a historic…read moremarker. The marker is part of the Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of schools, forts, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, cemeteries, roads, historic districts, churches, and historic buildings like this one. Historic marker F-1047 was installed in 2019 by Brevard County Historical Commission, The Brevard County Tourist Development Council, and the Florida Department of State.
This marker is in front of the S.F. Travis Company. It was founded in 1885 by Samuel Franklin Travis, a Civil War veteran. It is the oldest continuously operating business in the city of Cocoa and one of the oldest hardware stores in Florida. This hardware store has been family owned and operated for five generations making it also one of the longest running family businesses in the state. Colonel Travis started his business with a merchant boat that traveled the rivers between Jacksonville and Fort Pierce delivering orders and selling general merchandise to riverside communities without access to roads. He was one of Cocoa's founding fathers and an original Councilman.
The store was built in 1891 after the fire of 1890. It was purchased by Colonel S.F. Travis in 1902. It started as warehouse space and grew to include a retail location. It is the only commercial structure in Cocoa from this period still used for its original purpose and is the oldest brick building in the city. Travis opened a second building in 1907. He operated a general store that sold a little of everything including groceries, butter churns, anvils, furniture, appliances, and even caskets. A 1924 renovation added large display windows, the awning, brick facade, and second floor walkway between the buildings. In addition to the hardware business, this property also housed a mortuary, telegraph office, and at one time a small movie theater. It was the first building in Cocoa to have an elevator and a sprinkler system, and it was one of the first businesses to install a telephone.
There was a dock at the back of the store that enabled deliveries up and down the Indian River until the 1950's when the dock was removed and the shoreline was filled in for the Cocoa River Development project. The tools and building materials sold by the S.F. Travis Co. helped build Cocoa Village, the Kennedy Space Center, the Banana River Naval Air Station which was later renamed Patrick Air Force Base, and many neighboring communities. The S.F. Travis Co. sold supplies that helped build the infrastructure for Florida's space industry and continued to serve defense contractors, aerospace companies, small businesses, and homeowners. For over 30 years Colonel Travis' great-grandson Travis "Mac" Osborne has served as the Company's president. What began as a small local hardware store has had a lasting legacy on the Space Coast.