natives were dead from an epidemic that plagued the area after the arrival of a shipwrecked British merchant. In the 1760s, the Elliott Plantation grew sugar and milled it. Remains of the plantation can be found in the Wildlife Refuge. In April 1788, French botanist André Michaux traveled in Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral. He spent five days looking for plants. He wrote a letter on April 24, 1788, from St Augustine. He reported discovering the flag or bigflower paw-paw, Asimina obovata (Annona grandiflora (Bartr.)). In 1837, Fort Ann was constructed on the east coast of Merritt Island near the present day Haulover Canal, to protect the area against the Seminoles. Merritt Island's recent history dates back to the mid-19th century and centers on the growth of citrus, stressing the cultivation of pineapples and oranges. The Indian River oranges and grapefruit come from this sandy area. Freezes destroyed the local pineapple industry in the late 1890s. Freed slaves constructed small towns in the area after the Civil War, including Haulover, Clifton, and Shiloh. The island's population grew in the 1950s and 1960s as the Space Race began and nearby NASA expanded. Construction of a barge canal to the Intracoastal Waterway from the Atlantic Ocean (for power plant oil shipments) cut off the northern half of the island for many years. To this day, the northern portion of the island remains slightly less developed, with a few areas remaining as cattle pasture or citrus land. The small towns on the island vanished with the coming of the Space Age, and now only live on in the names of streets and historic churches. In 1988, citizens defeated a proposed incorporation into a city, 77% opposed to 23% in favor. Sea Ray Boats operated a factory on Merritt Island from 1978 to 2012. At one time it employed 1200 people. It closed the plant in 2013. Geography Merritt Island extends some from the Volusia County line to Dragon Point near Melbourne. It connects to the Florida mainland where SR 3 now intersects US 1 in Volusia County. To the west it is separated from the mainland by the Indian River and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. To the east it is separated by the Mosquito Lagoon and the Banana River from the barrier island on which Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach stand. The east side of Merritt Island splits and is divided by Sykes