Before the Rockets

Display location: Museum exhibit hall

Before the Cape became famous as a rocket launching place, it was home to wildlife, early settlers, and a lighthouse keeper. The first room of the Exhibit Hall displays some of the evidence from the time before rockets.

Natural Beauty

A wall-sized mural (left) depicts some of the wildlife on beach along Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A large display case (right) holds the results of many beachcombing trips.

This display case holds evidence of selected wildlife still found on the Cape such as turtles, racoons, and the armadillo that is so popular with visitors. The loggerhead turtle skull (below) looks like it came from an alien being. Birds are in abundance everywhere. Deer are seen on occasion. Other wildlife such as alligators, rattlesnakes, and panthers may not appear so friendly, but normally keep to themselves when not bothered.

Cape Canaveral Lighthouse

The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse is still in operation nightly after having been first constructed in 1868 and moved to its present location in 1894. Artwork and photographs from all periods of its history grace the walls.

The lighthouse gazebo on the museum grounds was constructed to hold the original copper roof from the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse.

The magnificent Cape Canaveral Lighthouse first order Fresnel lens is on display at the nearby Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse.

The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation is active in preserving the history of the lighthouse.

Artifacts from the early days of the lighthouse,
such as this porcelain doorknob

Bricks from the site of the first lighthouse built
on the Cape

A display of collectible lighthouse models. The
Museum gift shop has some for sale.

Early Residents

	Small settlements, some with peculiar names, dotted the Cape. The residents had to be self-sufficient and a few artifacts from these settlements are on display.