Old Space Coast
County history

Mosquito County, 1824 to 1845, and the lagoon that kept the name

Florida's territorial council created Mosquito County on December 29, 1824. Its southern part became St. Lucie County in 1844, renamed Brevard in 1855; the rest became Orange County on January 30, 1845. The Mosquito Lagoon kept the old name.

By The Old Space Coast Team Updated October 15, 2026
Mosquito Lagoon at Canaveral National Seashore.
The Mosquito Lagoon at Canaveral National Seashore. The lagoon kept its name after the county that shared it was split and renamed. National Park Service via Wikimedia Commons. Public domain.

Brevard County’s oldest ancestor is a county named for a bug. Florida’s territorial council created Mosquito County on December 29, 1824, from part of St. Johns County, according to the University of South Florida’s Exploring Florida project. It took its name from the coast itself: the Spanish had called the whole shore “Los Mosquitos,” and a historical marker at the Turnpike’s Turkey Lake service plaza in Orlando ties the name to local waters like the Barra de Mosquitos.

A county the size of the coast

Mosquito County was enormous. A USF description of a map from about 1834 says it took in the east coast from present-day Flagler County south through Broward County, and the maps of the period show the Indian River and the St. Lucie River running through it.

Split and renamed

The county came apart in two steps:

DateChangeSource
March 14, 1844St. Lucie County created from the southern part of Mosquito CountyNPS, Titusville form
January 30, 1845What remained of Mosquito County renamed Orange CountyUSF; Orlando marker
1855St. Lucie County renamed Brevard County, for Theodore Washington Brevard, the state comptrollerNPS, Titusville form

The new name was chosen for its appeal. The Orlando marker says that as citrus spread, locals and state leaders found “Mosquito” unappealing, and USF says the council chose Orange “after all the orange groves in the area.” Brevard’s own name came from a person, not a crop; our page on how Brevard got its name has that story.

Oyster shells exposed beneath vegetation at Turtle Mound, beside the Mosquito Lagoon.
Oyster shell at Turtle Mound, on the Mosquito Lagoon near New Smyrna Beach, left by the Timucua between about 800 and 1400 CE, according to the National Park Service. Ian Poellet via Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0.

Titusville comes later

Titusville wasn’t in Brevard at the start. The town grew up in Volusia County, and according to the National Park Service, Brevard annexed the southern part of Volusia, Titusville included, in 1879. County voters made Titusville the seat the same year.

The name that stayed

The counties changed names; the water didn’t. The Mosquito Lagoon, the northern arm of the Indian River Lagoon system, still carries the old Spanish name. The National Park Service describes Canaveral National Seashore, on the barrier island beside it, as shaped by dunes, coastal hammocks and the Mosquito Lagoon.

Further Reading

Sources

  1. University of South Florida, Exploring Florida: Orange County (formerly Mosquito County, 1824-1845) and its historical maps
  2. University of South Florida, Exploring Florida: detail map of Mosquito County, circa 1834
  3. Home of Orange & Mosquito Counties historical marker, Orlando (Historical Marker Database)
  4. National Park Service, National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form, Titusville Multiple Property Group, Early Settlement
  5. National Park Service, Canaveral National Seashore
  6. National Park Service, Canaveral National Seashore, Turtle Mound

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