“ The population of Fellsmere is of a high type of intelligence, with lofty ideals and wise execution. Progressive in all things, perhaps no better indication of the fact may be given than the unanimous vote of the town granting unrestricted . . . — — Map (db m14303) HM
Fellsmere is a dramatic account of floods, land "booms" and land "busts". Named for E. Nelson Fell, Fellsmere was first incorporated in 1911, as part of St. Lucie County. The Fellsmere Farms Land Development Company promoted the area's rich soils . . . — — Map (db m14304) HM
Fellsmere, the northernmost town in St. Lucie County in 1919, had a population of over 800 people. The county built the first public road to cross the St. Johns River marsh in St. Lucie County (now Indian River County). Promoted as the . . . — — Map (db m95495) HM
In 1910, the newly established Fellsmere Farms Company hired Black laborers
to build the Fellsmere Railroad and cook for the survey party. Early Black
families included the Allens, Browns, Butters, Fosters, Fredericks, Johnsons.
Mays, . . . — — Map (db m269367) HM
Local residents built this church, circa 1922. It was dedicated in 1924 as the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Fellsmere. In 1955 a storm destroyed the spire and cross and in 1990 the bell had to be removed. A grant from the Florida . . . — — Map (db m235715) HM
(side 1)
Fellsmere Union Church, located at 12 North Hickory Street, is the first and oldest church in the City of Fellsmere. The Reverend James A. Liggitt, Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of London, Ohio, and a property owner in . . . — — Map (db m93260) HM
Frank William Heiser was born in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1892. He was orphaned at age 14 and later dropped out of school. In 1911, Heiser bought a 20-acre farm in Fellsmere and moved to the area in 1912. He married Fellsmere Sales Company secretary . . . — — Map (db m127811) HM
(side 1)
The Fellsmere Public School, the first masonry school building in what is now Indian River County, was constructed during 1915 and 1916 at 22 South Orange Street. The 22,680 square foot, two-story school with a raised basement was . . . — — Map (db m93265) HM
The standard-gauge Fellsmere Railroad was completed in 1910 with 60 lb. rail to replace the old Sebastian & Cincinnatus narrow-gauge railroad built in 1896 between Sebastian and Fellsmere. The Fellsmere Farms Company used the 10-mile-long railroad . . . — — Map (db m93266) HM
The Merian Fell Library, the oldest library in Indian River County, opened its doors to the public on May 1, 1915 at 63 North Cypress Street, Fellsmere, Florida. Construction of the library was made possible by Marian Fell, daughter of Edward Nelson . . . — — Map (db m93264) HM
The Mark VII SDV began experimental service in 1967, and conducted its first mission off the coast of North Vietnam in June, 1972. It is a four-man, wet, submersible vehicle. It’s acoustic and magnetic signature is minimized by the use of non . . . — — Map (db m186177) WM
In 1892, William Edward Geoffrey, an African American man from Darlington, South Carolina, came to work on the Florida East Coast Railroad in Gifford. The town's first school was built in 1898, but only served white children. In 1901, Geoffrey . . . — — Map (db m127810) HM
In 1901, William E. Geoffrey, a black man, donated this land for a black school in Gifford. Funded with help from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation, which provided support for hundreds of black schools across Florida and the Southeast, the Gifford . . . — — Map (db m213229) HM
Late in July, 1715, a hurricane destroyed a fleet of eleven or possibly twelve homeward bound merchant ships carrying cargoes of gold and silver coinage and other valuable items from the American colonies to Spain. About 1500 men, women, and . . . — — Map (db m14306) HM
In the early 20th century, the Indian River was a highway for settlers and tourists. There were few roads, and no bridges from the mainland to the barrier islands in the Indian River County area. In 1923, a road with bridges was opened, crossing the . . . — — Map (db m212943) HM
The Spanish had very strict regulations regarding the number and types of anchors that ships were to have on board during voyages to and from the New World.
This encrusted iron Kedge anchor would have weighted approximately 350 lbs. It was one . . . — — Map (db m292578) HM
This cannon is a reproduction, made from a mold of an original cannon salvaged from a galleon of the Spanish Plate Fleet that sank in a hurricane in 1715 near Sebastian, Florida — — Map (db m292584) HM
(front)
My stone is red for
the blood they shed.
The medal I bear
is my country’s way
to show they care
If I could be seen
by all mankind
maybe peace will
come in my lifetime.
All Gave Some Some . . . — — Map (db m267950) HM
At 12:55 am on February 3, 1943, a German torpedo struck the USAT Dorchester transporting soldiers in the North Atlantic during World War II. Twelve of the fourteen lifeboats were unusable and there were not enough life jackets for the . . . — — Map (db m268142) HM WM
This is an authentic Iron Cannon. Cast Iron was used in the production of artillery weapons and projectiles. This cannon would have predominantly used a round shot (cannon ball) although there are other types that could have been used such as bar . . . — — Map (db m292661) HM
This point of land at the junction of the St. Sebastian River and the Indian River was once settled by aboriginal people, the Ais. Pottery shards and ancient shells can still be found along the shore.
In 1889, L.C. Moore built the . . . — — Map (db m93121) HM
The Spanish had very strict regulations regarding the number and types of anchors that ships were to have on board during voyages to and from the New World. The construction contract for the "Nuestra Senora de Atocha" required the fitting of six . . . — — Map (db m292660) HM
In 1833, August Park was born in Danzig, Germany. After immigrating to the United States, he traveled to New York, and later moved to Fort Pierce, Florida. Park settled in the Sebastian area in 1865, the first permanent resident of European descent. . . . — — Map (db m239205) HM
This marker commemorates the men, women, and children who achieved American Independence.
These patriots, believing in the noble cause of liberty, fought valiantly to found a new nation. 1775-1783 — — Map (db m292663) WM
The Ays Indians lived along the confluence of the St. Sebastian and the Indian River (Rio d'ays) when the Spanish arrived in the 1500s. For hundreds of years after that, settlements in the Indian River area were restricted to the coastal areas where . . . — — Map (db m93109) HM
Settled in the 1870's, Sebastian became an important trading and fishing center during the era of the river steamers. To improve commerce and fishing, pioneers in 1886 attempted unsuccessfully to link the ocean with the river via the Sebastian . . . — — Map (db m95073) HM
This building served the children of Sebastian as their Grammar School from 1927 until 1981. It then served the City as City Hall until 2004. Since then it has been historically restored and now serves the City as the site of the Sebastian . . . — — Map (db m278705) HM
USAT Dorchester
The Dorchester was a 5,649 ton civilian cruise ship, 368 feet long with a 52-foot beam and a single funnel originally built in 1926 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, for the . . . — — Map (db m288653) HM WM
Dodgertown was the spring training facility of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers. Originally part of a World War II Naval Air Station, Dodgertown became the spring training home of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, when local business leader Bud . . . — — Map (db m308784) HM
The 1st house of refuge on Florida's east coast was constructed on this site which later became part of the U.S. Lifesaving Service. Houses of Refuge were built about 20 miles apart and provided a safe haven for those shipwrecked along the desolate . . . — — Map (db m112157) HM
On 30 April 1894, the British Steamship Breconshire (formerly the Numidian), bound from New York to Tampa, stranded on the offshore limestone reef leaving its boiler visible above the waves. The 24-man crew was sheltered by the U.S. Life Saving . . . — — Map (db m186018) HM
On February 23, 2005, the five Rotary Clubs of Indian River County joined together to break ground on this Centennial Fountain.
The fountain was built to commemorate Rotary International’s 100th Anniversary and revive the original Rotary . . . — — Map (db m185888) HM
(front)
The pattern of community development which occurred in Vero Beach provides insight into some important aspects of Florida's history. Although the coastal waters in the region attracted fishermen, settlement of this area did not . . . — — Map (db m82788) HM
This Property
Has Been Placed On The
National Register
Of Historic Places
By The United States
Department Of The Interior
Community Building
1935 — — Map (db m185851) HM
The Cenotaph nameplates on these markers honor those residents from Indian River Country who paid the Supreme Sacrifice In Defense Of Our Country.
★
The grove of trees that flank the Cenotaphs is dedicated in honor of Gold Star families . . . — — Map (db m188114) WM
In the early 1900s, Swedish immigrant and horticulturist Axel Hallstrom sought the warm climate of Florida for his wife's health and moved to this area to from tropical trees and fruits. He first planted pineapples on his new farmstead, in the area . . . — — Map (db m136027) HM
Korean War Memorial
Korean War Veteran Association
Indian River County, Chapter 318
25 June 1950 ….27 July 1953
We All Gave Some…Some Gave All
Casualties
54,246 Dead • 185,284 Wounded
7,245 P.O.W. • 8,175 . . . — — Map (db m186051) WM
Laura Reichenthal (1901-1991) was born in New York City and studied at Cornell University. During the 1920s and 1930s, under the pen name Laura Riding, she became a renowned author. She moved to Europe in 1926 to collaborate with British poet and . . . — — Map (db m212942) HM
These gates, once the property of Henry Flagler, adorned McKee Jungle Garden’s main entrance from 1932 until 1967. Thereafter, they graced the residence of one of Arthur McKee’s daughters, Mary-Katherine Semon until the time of her husband’s death, . . . — — Map (db m92563) HM
This is the original site of McKee Jungle Gardens, one of Florida’s earliest tourist attractions. McKee Gardens was founded in 1932 by Vero Beach pioneer Waldo Sexton and Cleveland industrialist Arthur G. McKee. They engaged William Lyman . . . — — Map (db m92562) HM
Osceola Park was one of the first residential subdivisions added to the town of Vero Beach and contains the city's largest concentration of early 20th century buildings. In 1915 and 1917, the Indian River Farms Company, who had platted the original . . . — — Map (db m93120) HM
Remember Pearl Harbor • Keep America Alert
“Lest We Forget” December 7, 1941
G. Angelo • A. Anzalone • E. Barker • R. Babenny• R. Bigelow • B.W. Bigger • J.A. Blair • R.V. Boyd • R. Boyer • R. Boykin • Joseph Brooke • E.E. Bruffy • . . . — — Map (db m187784) WM
During the early 1920’s, three Cleveland, Ohio physicians established Riomar as a private winter resort for themselves and their families. The facilities included a clubhouse and guest cottage on what is now Riomar Drive, a nine-hole golf course and . . . — — Map (db m130537) HM
Photo: Looking north at the intersection of 14th Avenue and what was then Osceola Blvd. This early photo was in the days before S.R. 60. The large building was the Simmons Building, later called the Seminole Building where the Press Journal is . . . — — Map (db m185895) HM
A few miles southwest of this marker is the site of Fort Vinton. As white settlers moved into Florida, demands increased for the removal of the Seminole Indians to a western reservation. The Seminoles did not wish to leave, and in 1835 the conflict . . . — — Map (db m212677) HM
This is the original flywheel which was once a part of the 1937 750-Kilowatt Busch-Sulzberger Air Injected Diesel Engine located within the building as the centerpiece of American Icon Brewery. The big Diesel engine spun this huge wheel as a . . . — — Map (db m186003) HM
A parade of Model T automobiles crossed the first bridge to span the Indian River on Labor Day 1920. This made Vero the first community with a bridge to Orchid Island. Made of sabal palm pilings and rough-cut planking, it began on the mainland side . . . — — Map (db m136026) HM
The Pueblo Arcade
Has Been Placed On The
National Register
Of Historic Places
By The United States
Department Of The Interior
March 8, 1997 — — Map (db m185822) HM
This Woman’s Club of Vero Beach Florida
has been placed on the
National Register of Historic Places
by the United States
Department of Interior
1995 — — Map (db m260049) HM
Theater Plaza
Has Been Placed On The
National Register
Of Historic Places
By The United States
Department Of The Interior
“Vero Theater”
April 28, 1992 — — Map (db m185845) HM
In Memory of
Alexander MacWilliams Sr.
whose efforts and inspiration founded this
beautiful memorial sanctuary.
Dedicated to those who paid the supreme sacrifice.
★ ★ ★
“May he walk through these paths of . . . — — Map (db m187290) HM WM
Treasure Hammock Ranch was established in 1943 by Indian River County pioneer Waldo E. Sexton, who arrived in 1913. The ranch and surrounding lands comprise headwaters of the Sebastian River set in a Chapter 298 Drainage District by the Florida . . . — — Map (db m213227) HM
Site of the Main Hanger and Control Tower of the Vero Beach Naval Air Station (NAS) that was commissioned on 24 November 1942 to provide Navy and Marine flight training base for over 2700 men 300 WAVES and women Marines. The previously city-owned . . . — — Map (db m288823) HM
The tee-beam bridge at this location carried traffic southbound on US-1 over the Florida East Coast Railway and Old Dixie Highway beginning in 1927. The tee-beam design, constructed from cast-in-place concrete beams and reinforced steel running . . . — — Map (db m95717) HM
Vero’s first town hall building was located at the southeast corner of the original 1913 town plat, west of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks along Osceola Boulevard, later State Road 60. Designed by John Sherwood in the Spanish Mission Revival . . . — — Map (db m100029) HM
In 1893, Henry Flagler's railroad arrived in Sebastian, and reached Ft. Pierce in 1894, bypassing the tiny community of Vero. Flagler renamed his railroad the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) in 1895. Because of agricultural growth in the area, . . . — — Map (db m112159) HM
River travel was vital to the early human activity of Florida and the Indian River area. In the early 1900's, efforts began to dredge the Indian River. By the 1930's, the U.S. Corps of Engineers routinely maintained this channel called the . . . — — Map (db m95033) HM WM
This bridge and causeway
designated as
Veterans Walk
is dedicated to
All Veterans of the Armed Forces
of the United States of America — — Map (db m188117) WM
[Side 1]
Dedicated To All
Vietnam Veterans
All Gave Some, Some Gave All
Feb 1961-May 1975
[Side 2]
In Memory Of The 58232
KIA And The 1677 POW ★ MIA
And Of Those Who . . . — — Map (db m186146) WM
In Memory Of
William Jennings Bryan
The Great Commoner
Who delivered his last public address
from a platform erected upon this spot
at the celebration of the creation of
Indian River County, July 2nd, 1925.
He was the . . . — — Map (db m185871) HM
On the night of May 5, 1942, eight miles off this coast, German submarine U-333 attacked the US tanker Java Arrow, killing two of her crew.
Coast Guard Auxiliary volunteers Kit Johnson, Ottie Roach, Harry McDonald, and Ward . . . — — Map (db m245936) HM
In the late 1880s, several farmers settled on small farms and homesteads in this area. The families of W. Brown, J. Cannon, A. O. Espy, W. Geoffrey, and J. Gray called their small agricultural community Brownsville. By 1893, these settlers had been . . . — — Map (db m272377) HM
This cemetery opened in 1924 as a private burial ground for the Vero Cemetery Association was disbanded during the depression years. There were few burials and most were relocated to a city owned cemetery in Vero Beach. Some of the large headstones . . . — — Map (db m272379) HM
Two Dollar Bluff, prominently featured on the U.S. Geodetic Map of 1887, was considered a navigational aid for ships on the Indian River. Located on property owned by settler and citrus grower A.B. Michael, this bluff was an Ais Indian midden and . . . — — Map (db m212947) HM
Beulah African Methodist Episcopal Church was the first house of worship in Wabasso to be affiliated with a national congregation. Its founders settled here in the early 1900s as laborers in agriculture, lumber, turpentine, and construction, the . . . — — Map (db m112156) HM
Historic wagon road built in 1890's and used by early settlers on John's Island and the peninsula to transport their produce from the Quay Dock to Quay Station now Winter Beach. — — Map (db m175724) HM
Even before Florida became a state in 1845, the Indian River region was attracting pioneer settlers. These were mostly farmers seeking land to grow winter crops such as beans, cabbage, and tomatoes. They later become famous for growing pineapples . . . — — Map (db m213228) HM
