Mims, Florida

Mims is located at 28°40′7″N 80°50′53″W (28.668670, -80.847949).[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 22.4 square miles (57.9 km²), of which 17.0 square miles (44.1 km²) is land and 5.3 square miles (13.7 km²), or 23.71%, is water.[6]

As of the census[2] of 2000, there were 9,147 people, 3,591 households, and 2,574 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 462.0 inhabitants per square mile (178.4/km²). There were 4,171 housing units at an average density of 210.7 per square mile (81.4/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 86.57% White, 10.98% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.31% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.54% of the population.

There were 3,591 households, out of which 28.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 11.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 26.4% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.9 males.

Mims, Florida received its name after its earliest settlers; Britton J. Mims, Robert Mims, and Casper Neil Mims. The three brothers were reputedly distant relatives to Jesse James. Casper later established the first Mims general store circa 1876.[9]

Henry Flagler's East Coast Railroad construction starting 1885 expanded the community. By 1893, with railroad in place, both Mims and neighboring city Titusville began shipping citrus and lumber to northern cities.[10] By the end of the 19th century citrus farms began to dominate the local economy.[11]

The settlement was organized as a city in the early 1900s; continuing slow growth until the start of the great depression. During the first years of the great depression large numbers of residents reportedly left looking for work. Mims, unable to sustain a municipal government, subsequently reverted to an unincorporated township within Brevard County, Florida.

Mims civil rights leader Harry T. Moore and his family resided in Mims from at least the 1920s. Known as a national civil rights leader, teacher and founder of the Brevard County NAACP, he and his wife Harriette were targeted for assassination Christmas Eve, 1951; they received fatal injuries when a bomb exploded from under their home. Moore died in the blast; his wife survived until January 3, 1952 . Both of their daughters survived the attack. The murders were racially motivated and believed to have been committed by members of the Ku Klux Klan.

The FBI investigated the case in 1951-1952, and the county and state in the 1970s and 1990s. The state reinvestigated in 2005, after suspected perpetrators had died. No prosecutions or charges were ever brought against the purpetrator(s).[12][13] Multiple sites in Mims and Brevard County are dedicated to the Moores including the Moore Memorial Park and Cultural Center in Mims.

There are three schools located in Mims; two public and one private.

• Christ Aid Academy (Private, K-12)
• Mims Elementary School (Public, K-6)
• Pinewood Elementary School (Public, K-6)