In the early twentieth century, the North Dakota-based Florida Indian River Catholic Colony corporation promoted a Catholic community in central Florida and, by 1914, helped settle nearly 100 midwestern families, mostly of German and Slavic descent, in the Tillman area along the Indian River and Turkey Creek. At that time, Brevard County had no resident Catholic priest, and clergy traveled among rural communities to conduct services. When the corporation did not fulfill its promise to build a proper church, parish members built one themselves. Bishop Michael J. Curley dedicated St. Joseph's in 1914, and after the ceremony 78 local children received the Sacrament of Confirmation. The church served the nearby communities of Melbourne and Eau Gallie, with residents traveling by wagon or boat to attend services. A rectory was built in 1923, and the church's first resident priest arrived a year later. St. Joseph's Church of Palm Bay, listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, is the oldest Catholic church in continuous use in Brevard County.