Hopkins, also known as South Melbourne, is a former town in Brevard County, Florida

Brevard County, Florida

Brevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state. Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is part of the present-day city of Melbourne

Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...

.

Town of Hopkins, Florida

The former town of Hopkins was developed by George W. Hopkins

George W. Hopkins

George W. Hopkins was a lumberman involved in the removal of tens of thousands of acres of virgin forests in Michigan and Florida.Hopkins was born in 1844 in Virginia. His father soon moved his family to Michigan in search of farm land. Hopkins became a surveyor and map maker at a young age, and...

 after he formed the Union Cypress Company

Union Cypress Company

The Union Cypress Company operated a three-story double-band sawmill in Melbourne, Florida, built in 1912. The small company town of Hopkins , named after George W. Hopkins, the owner, was built at the site...

 on the south side of Crane Creek

Crane Creek (Melbourne, Florida)

Crane Creek is a stream in Melbourne, Florida, United States. It is a tributary of the Indian River, with its mouth in the vicinity of Front Street.-History:...

 in present-day Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne, Florida

Melbourne is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. As of 2009, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 78,323. The municipal area is the second largest by size and by population in the county. Melbourne is a principal city of the Palm Bay – Melbourne – Titusville, Florida...

. This is where Hopkins constructed cypress and pine sawmills in the years between 1910 and 1915. Hopkins also purchased nearly 100000 acres (404.7 km²) in southwestern Brevard County

Brevard County, Florida

Brevard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida, along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As of 2007 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the population is 536,521, making it the 10th most populous county in the state. Influenced by the presence of the John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard...

 and Osceola County

Osceola County, Florida

Osceola County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 172,493. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county is 244,045, making it the 17th fastest-growing county in the United States. Its county seat is Kissimmee.- History :Osceola County was...

. Hopkins constructed the Union Cypress Railroad to transport timber from Deer Park

Deer Park, Florida

Deer Park is an unincorporated community in Osceola County, Florida, United States. It is located off US 192, south of the intersection with County Road 419. The community is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area.-References:...

 in Osceola county to his mills south of Melbourne. The Hopkins operation became the company town

Company town

A company town is a town or city in which much or all real estate, buildings , utilities, hospitals, small businesses such as grocery stores and gas stations, and other necessities or luxuries of life within its borders are owned by a single company...

 of Hopkins, employing up to 500 men at its peak, complete with a company store, hospital, post office and FEC railroad depot.

Hopkins Lumber Products

Hopkins became the most successful businessman in Brevard County in the early 1900s. He worked with his son-in-law, William H. Kempfer, to promote the settlement of Deer Park. His products were shipped throughout the state on the Florida East Coast Railroad. Many of the original bridges, including the first to span the Indian River

Indian River (Florida)

The Indian River is a waterway in Florida, a part of the Indian River Lagoon system which forms the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It extends southward from the Ponce de Leon inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Florida [Volusia County] southward and across the "Haulover Canal" and along the western shore...

 at Cocoa

Cocoa, Florida

Cocoa is a city in Brevard County, Florida, United States. The population was 16,412 at the 2000 census. As of 2008, the estimated population according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 16,478. It is part of the Palm Bay–Melbourne–Titusville Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:Cocoa was...

, were built with Union Cypress products. The Hopkins cypress mill burned to the ground in 1920, but was rebuilt. The mill continued to operate after George Hopkins died in 1925, supplying lumber and building products for the building boom of the twenties. The Hopkins sawmills finally closed after the Deer Park site had been stripped of its most valuable timber. The Kempfer Sawmill continues to operate near Deer Park, providing cypress and mulch for Brevard and Osceola Counties.