Martin County History

The Indian River, Atlantic Ocean, and the South and North Forks of the St. Lucie River, along with numerous creeks, played significant roles in Martin County’s history. Local inhabitants and pioneers who settled in the area during the late 1800s relied on the water and all of its resources.

The Gulf Stream is located right off the coast and is an important shipping lane. Before the area was settled, in 1876, Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge was built on Hutchinson Island by the United States Government. A keeper was stationed there to provide shipwreck victims with assistance.

Homer Hine Stuart, Jr. bought land during the 1880s and constructed a house in the northern area of the St. Lucie River. Stuart donated land to be used for a railroad depot in exchange for the railway stop being named after him once the railway was brought down to Palm Beach form Florida’s east coast by Henry Flagler. At that time, the St. Lucie River did not have a vehicular bridge over it.

When Walter Kitching, the owner of a general store, was able to persuade Flagler officials to relocate the railroad depot to a spot by his general store, the south area of the river where the depot was located was named Stuart.

Once the Florida East Coast Railway came to the area, there was a dramatic change in pioneer life. With dependable transportation, it made it a lot easier to ship the major products of the region, including fish and pineapples, The tourist industry thrived and social life was centered around train arrivals which brought mail to the inhabitants.

Once the railway depot in Stuart had been relocated to the St. Lucie River’s south side, freight and passenger depots, boat docks, railway spurs, and ferry landing were the hub of early Stuart. Stuart’s Flagler Park these days is located in the former commercial center of the community. The only remaining traces from the past is the old General Merchandise Store, which is the Stuart Heritage Museum today.

The first tourists in the area were outdoorsmen who arrived to fish and hunt there. John Danforth, a Maine hunting guide, introduced a houseboat in the area that served as the first hotel in the area. He built his Danforth Hotel later. Another hotel called the Stuart Hotel evolved from the first combination store and post office established by Broster Kitching.

Grover Cleveland, the former President, discovered the good fishing in the region and stayed in the Danforth Hotel. Word of the great fishing in Stuart spread which led to other hotels, apartment houses, and boarding houses being built for accommodating tourists. Commercial fishing and boat building were altered to meet the needs of sports fishermen and tourists.

Once the Dixie Highway was completed that crossed the St. Lucie River in Stuart, it helped to create Florida’s Great Land Boom during the 1920s. The development frenzy came to the St. Lucie Region area as well. The Commercial Club lobbied for a new county to be created and key members traveled to Tallahassee in order to plead their cause. Once the decision was made to name their new county after John W. Martin, the incumbent governor, things started to fall in place.

Martin County became official on August 5, 1925. This Boom started to waver, so they scrapped plans for building a new courthouse and their new county government was relocated to an empty schoolhouse.

The Commercial Club became the Martin County Chamber of Commerce and in 1928 was officially incorporated. There were numerous challenges faced by the area. During the 1930s while the Great Depression was in force, the Federal Government helped to construct the courthouse’s art deco addition, the Log Cabin (that the entire community used), the Library, the Woman’s Club, and the Roosevelt Bridge.

Witham Field was built in Stuart during World War II for training Navy pilots as well as Camp Murphy, which was a 35-square-mile sprawling United States Army Signal School, that was constructed in Hobe Sound. On Hutchinson Island, Coast Guard facilities were expanded, and there were lookout towers were scattered across the area. Some servicemen married local area women and many of them return after the war to the region. Jonathan Dickinson State Park was established out of the huge acreage that had been Camp Murphy.

The local Chamber of Commerce made efforts to attract industry and tourists and also provide economic security. In 1941, an incredible sailfish run drew attention to all of the waste of the killing and getting rid of catches. A release system was developed to preserve the species.

Stuart promoted itself as being the World’s Sailfish Capital. Stuart Fishing Guides, which started to be published in 1935 by the Stuart Daily News and distributed by Stuart’s Chamber of Commerce help to attract thousands of people to the area. Ernest F. Lyons, the Stuart News longtime editor, was responsible for most of the writing and the Fishing Guides were full of local business ads. Lyons, who was an avid environmentalist and sportsman, help to inspire the local residents to preserve nature as well as enjoy it.