Stuart was first settled in 1870. It was recognized as a town in Palm Beach County in 1914. In…read more1925, it was designated a city in the newly created Martin County. Stuart is known as the Sailfish Capital of the World because of the large number of sailfish in the ocean waters off the coast of Stuart. The Stuart Riverwalk located in the historic downtown has cute shops, art galleries, restaurants, and spectacular views of the St. Lucie River and the Roosevelt Bridge. The riverwalk runs along the edge of town on the banks of the St. Lucie River. Take in the boats, fish, birds, and the river. There is a health trail you can follow if you are looking for exercise. At the waters edge on Sundays the city offers the free Rock 'n Riverwalk concert series and the Green Market. You can pick up the $10 Tiki Taxi Cruises behind Mulligan's Restaurant where they pick every hour on the hour Thursday through Sunday. If you visit Stuart, this is an area you will definitely want to check out.

If you find yourself in Stuart, FL, this is a good point of reference spot. It's a nice spot to see…read morethe River view. It's most picturesque to me at night. It can be very windy on those super windy days. It is also a hop skip away from the quaint downtown area with shops to browse. On the weekend, you can find a farmers market on a Saturday morning!

The Stuart Welcome Arch was commissioned in 1925 by the Stuart Chamber of Commerce to celebrate the…read morecreation of Martin County, with Stuart as the county seat. At the time Stuart envisioned themselves becoming even bigger than Miami. The arch was designed by Nat C. Hogdon of Pfeiffer and O'Reilly Architects, in the ornate Mediterranean Revival style that was typical during Florida's land boom years. The arch was built by A. L. Doenges and completed on February 20, 1926 at a site donated by the development of Stuart Shores. The arch was placed where Stuart's boundary on A1A met the southern limit of Jensen Beach. Businesses and individuals from both towns donated to a campaign that paid for the arch. It was conceived as a way to welcome the many motorists coming to winter in Florida on the main route to Miami. On the Stuart side the arch reads "Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico" on the crossbeam which commemorated the 1923 opening of the cross-state Stuart to Ft. Myers canal. Great fishing on the St. Lucie River that was supposed to lure people was ruined when the state started used the canal to flush polluted overflow from Lake Okeechobee out to sea. "Jensen" appears on the south side of the arch's crossbeam. The chamber had originally planned to build gateways at both the northern and southern boundaries of Stuart but the bust of the land boom caused by hurricanes and the Great Depression prevented additional construction. During the Great Depression, the town of Jensen went bankrupt and was dissolved, while Stuart lost most of it's land north of the St. Lucie River resulting in the arch now being located in an unincorporated area of Martin County called Rio. After construction the arch was vandalized in the 1940's during WWII when the brass was stolen. A 1949 hurricane toppled the crossbeam, and a car accident destroyed the east tower in 1976. In 1977 the east tower was rebuilt and in 1994 it was painted hot pink. In 1998 the arch was again struck by a vehicle, this time a garbage truck that took out the replaced crossbeam. The arch was repaired with a new beam featuring "Welcome to Rio" on the south side and "Welcome to Jensen Beach" on the north side. On September 15, 2004 the arch was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Stuart never lived up to the it's 1920's hype and the arch saw less travelers with the building of Route 1 and Interstate 95. Even so, in 2006 Martin County paid an architectural firm in Key West $235,000 to restore the beloved landmark to the way it originally looked. A dedication plaque was installed during this time. Although arches were popular with the advent of motor travel this is one of the last few to still remain. Drive under it and remember when it was the main artery for snowbirds flocking to South Florida for the winter.

I love historic architecture and I knew I found a real gem as soon as I saw the Golden Gate…read moreBuilding. This building has one of the blue historic markers in front of it that is part of the Florida Historical Marker Program. The Historical Marker program is one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. It raises awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of churches, schools, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, and historically important buildings like the Golden Gate Building. Historic marker F-1004 was installed in 2018 by the Friends of the Historic Golden Gate Community, the Martin County Community Redevelopment Agency, the Golden Gate Neighborhood Advisory Committee, and the Florida Department of State. In 1925 during Florida's land boom years, the Golden Gate company and its President, G.W. Bingham hired R.l. Robb Construction Co. to build the two story Mediterranean Revival building on Dixie Hwy. It was to be the sales office for real estate and land development. Fun fact: the walls of the Golden Gate Building are not perpendicular to each other. The building is a parallelogram, rather than a rectangle. The building was to be the cornerstone for Martin County's first planned major residential development. Two hurricanes and the Great Depression brought and end to the real estate boom of the 1920's. For the next 10 years the building was the Port Sewell Post Office, When Port Sewall incorporated in 1927, the building became town hall. In 1943 the building was briefly used as the Church of God of Port Sewall. From 1956-58 Seminole culture artist James F. Hutchinson and his wife lived here and had an art studio. His artwork still remains on the walls in the stairwell. After years of neglect the building was condemned in 1989. In 2002. Martin County purchased the property and in 2005 they restored the building. In 2006, Golden Gate was added to the Martin County Historic Register. In 2017 Golden Gate was listed on the Nation Register of Historic Places. That same year, the non profit House of Hope entered into a 15 year lease with Martin County to manage the building. They run services that help people living in the area with career training, health, and educational opportunities. They grow nutritional plants in the garden behind the building and also offer GED, computer, and citizenship classes. Today this historically important and beautiful building serves as an envoy of hope and wellness for the community of Stuart.

This house is located in Indian RivetSide Park where it was moved to from its original location…read more The home is frame vernacular and was built in 1889 at the tip of a peninsula called Sewell's point. It was a post office. Sewell was the postmaster and also lived in the building. Sewell and his wife Abbie moved from the home in 1911. The home was moved by barge to Willoughby Creek. In the intervening years the house was owned by several different people including a bootlegger and naval officer during WWII. The last owner of the home sold it to Martin County in 2006. It was moved to the Sailing Center in the park and the restoration was finished in 2012. Yo can tour the home the first and third Wednesday of every month from May until October, 11 AM to 1 PM. It can also be rented for private events.

I love a good lighthouse and I love history... This ties two together…read more It's 167 years old. There is an admission to pay which is very respectable amount. It goes for a good cause. The greeters and hosts are very nice and respectable. It's easy to hold the conversation with them. For being 167 years old, it is impeccable

Great spot to visit and take out of town family too…read more Interesting history of the area and the construction of the lighthouse. The staff was very helpful sharing insights and history. We enjoyed the visit and will take others that visit us.

In 1885 the only life saving station on the east coast was built near this spot. The actual…read morelocation is now underwater. The station operated until 1899. The construction of the station was overseen by Charles. R. Carlin who was the assistant keeper at the Jupiter Lighthouse. While the station no longer exists there is a historical marker in front of the Lazy Loggerhead Cafe in Carlin Park, The two story building had a four sided lookout tower on the roof with a powerful spyglass on a tripod that enabled the men to see out on to the ocean. The first floor had a utility room and a 27 foot rescue boat mounted on a ramp that slid down on to the beach. The second floor had the crew quarters and lockers for the six surf men who were skilled in shipwreck rescue. The men supervised by Carlin worked September through May and during the summer months only Carlin manned the post. After Henry Flagler brought the railroad to Florida ship traffic declined and paid workers were replaced with volunteers. After the station ceased operation Carlin remained to organize volunteers during emergencies until his death. While trying to prevent a brush fire from consuming the station he fell from the roof to his death. The During WWI Life Saving Service combined with the Revenue Cutter Service to form the United States Coast Guard. You can learn more about the life saving station at the nearby Jupiter Lighthouse museum. There is a room that has a display dedicated to the station that includes artifacts and photos. They have a locker from the station as well as Carlin's telescope.

David, the manager was really friendly and welcomed everyone waiiting in line inside promptly upon…read moreopening the doors. Instructions were given in a friendly and clear manner and i was in and out of there with my appointment within 20 minutes

Early is the key word here. Get there early. I was first in line at 7 am. By 9 am when doors opened…read morethere were 12-15 more people. By 9:30 when I walked out those first people were largely in the building while another 12 - 15 people stood outside, some in the sun. Once in, the person who helped me was kind, helpful and efficient. Everything I hoped to accomplish was done plus a little above and beyond. Masks are required. As aforementioned they do not let everyone in the building even if there is room as some Covid protocols are still in place. Calling social security was a whole different ball game :/ Walk in and be helped :) You can trust me, I took this advice straight from an employee once I finally got one who didn't transfer me to a voice mail ;D

Few people who drive down Military Trail today stop to think about it being an actual trail for the…read moremilitary. Jupiter erected a marker in front of the clock to remind everyone how this road came to be. The marker was placed by the Jupiter Town Council and the Florida Department of State in 2008. Military Trail was carved out during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). At the time the military was trying to round up the Seminoles as part of the Indian Removal Act to send them on the Trail of Tears out to Oklahoma. The Seminoles knew the terrain better than the army and proved difficult to catch. After the second Battle of the Loxahatchee on January 24, 1838, Colonel Jessup ordered Major Lauderdale who the city of Ft. Lauderdale is named for, to take his Tennessee Battalion of Volunteers and cut a trail from Fort Jupiter all the way down to Fort Dallas in Miami. Major Lauderdale also brought along a regiment of soldiers commanded by Lt. Robert Anderson who were in charge of constructing trails and defensive works. Along the way he was instructed to catch any of the Seminoles who had escaped the battle of Loxahatchee. To avoid swamps they kept the trail to the higher coastal ridge and made a stop at Fort Lauderdale before going on to Fort Dallas. The volunteers were able to cut through 63 miles in only four days. The route was first named Lauderdale's Trail and was used through the Third Seminole War in 1858. It was eventually named Military Trail which today is a major thoroughfare. Twenty two years after cutting Military Trail, Anderson was in charge of U.S. soldiers in Charleston, South Carolina. After South Carolina seceded he withdrew the troops into Fort Sumter which was attacked by the confederates. Anderson surrendered the fort which kicked off the Civil War. As for the Seminoles, 200 were able to hide in the Everglades and avoid capture. They are the only tribe to never sign a peace treaty with the United States government and they currently own the multi million dollar Hard Rock empire.