The city is known as the birthplace of speed, as early adopters of motorized cars flocked to its hard-packed beaches for yearlong entertainment, since paved roads were not yet commonplace.

[13] The Timucuan town of Nocoroco was located where the Tomoka River joins the Halifax River, just north of present-day Ormond Beach, when Álvaro Mexía passed through it in 1605 on a mission to establish relations between Spanish Florida and the Surruque and Ais peoples of the coast of what are now Volusia and Brevard counties.

[14] The city is named for James Ormond I, an Anglo-Irish-Scottish sea captain commissioned by King Ferdinand VII of Spain to bring Franciscan settlers to this part of Florida.

After returning to Spanish control, in 1821, Florida was acquired from Spain by the United States, but hostilities during the Second Seminole War delayed settlement until after 1842.

[4][5][6][7] With its hard, white beach, Ormond became popular for the wealthy seeking relief from northern winters during the Floridian boom in tourism following the Civil War.

It would be one in a series of Gilded Age hotels catering to passengers aboard his Florida East Coast Railway, which had purchased the St. Johns & Halifax Railroad.

He arrived in 1914 and after four seasons at the hotel bought an estate called The Casements, that would be Rockefeller's winter home during the latter part of his life.

Pioneers in the industry, including Ransom Olds with his Pirate Racer, and Alexander Winton, tested their inventions.

[citation needed] The municipality was officially renamed as the City of Ormond Beach following a referendum held on April 25, 1950.

The main railroad line through Ormond Beach is the Florida East Coast Railway, which had a station within the city.

Freight service continues to operate along the Florida East Coast Railway, but makes no stops within Ormond Beach.

Ormond Beach Business Park and Airpark, a foreign trade zone, is home to 29 companies that provide more than 2,000 jobs.

[citation needed] Recent studies show the workforce to be educated, productive, and competitive with 10 percent underemployed.