Fort Pierce is marking a major milestone in 2026: 125 years since its incorporation on February 2, 1901. Throughout the year, the Treasure Coast city of roughly 50,000 residents has celebrated with exhibits, festivals, and community partnerships that trace its path from a 19th-century military outpost to the “old Florida” waterfront city it is today, a story of resilience other Florida communities marking their own milestones will recognize.
“At 125, and with 50,000 residents, Fort Pierce is a thriving coastal city, with a real ‘old-Florida’ vibe,” said Mayor Linda Hudson. “We are proud of our history and culture and look forward to our bright future. Keeping our waterways clean and accessible to our residents and visitors is paramount. We are proud of our clean, uncrowded beaches on the Atlantic Ocean, our 100-plus-year-old man-made Fort Pierce Inlet, our Port of Fort Pierce and the Indian River Lagoon.”
Water has shaped Fort Pierce since long before it was a city. Spanish treasure ships sank off its coast in 1715, and in 1838 the U.S. Army built a fort along the natural inlet to the Rio de Ays, Spanish for Indian River, establishing the military post that gave the city its name. In 1921, the city opened a new, straight, deep man-made inlet connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian River Lagoon, and the Port of Fort Pierce followed by 1930.
The U.S. Coast Guard has kept a permanent presence in Fort Pierce since 1934, building a station in 1937 that remains active today. In 1943, the U.S. Navy established its Underwater Demolition Training base on Hutchinson Island’s beaches, the forerunner of the Navy SEALs, whose members trained there before storming the beaches of Normandy in World War II.
Fort Pierce’s legacy extends well beyond the water. The city is the birthplace of the Florida Highwaymen, the celebrated group of landscape artists mentored by painter A.E. “Bean” Backus, and it’s the final resting place of anthropologist and author Zora Neale Hurston. Its cultural roots continue today through the City Marina and Indian River State College, winner of the 2019 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence.
The 125th anniversary celebration has unfolded all year, beginning with a City Hall exhibit that opened February 2, the actual incorporation date, and building toward the Stars Over St. Lucie Festival on July 4, a joint celebration of Fort Pierce’s 125th birthday and America’s 250th presented with Fort Pierce and Lincoln Park Main Street. The St. Lucie Historical Society is collecting digital photos from residents for a time capsule set to be opened in 2051, and the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance produced a community-colored mural banner marking the occasion. Indian River Magazine devoted an entire issue to Fort Pierce’s 125-year history, and the Florida Highwaymen Museum was selected as a featured stop on the America250 Road Trip, a nationwide initiative commemorating the country’s 250th anniversary.
As Fort Pierce looks to its next chapter, city leaders say the focus remains on the asset that has defined the community since its founding: the water. From clean, uncrowded beaches to a working port and a century-old inlet, Fort Pierce’s waterways continue to anchor both its identity and its future, a reminder, Hudson said, that the city’s history and its growth are inseparable.
