Martin County (pop. 146,318), south of St. Lucie County, is one of six Martin counties in the U.S.
It was named for John W. Martin (1884-1958), governor of Florida from 1925 to 1929.
Martin County is one of the five counties that meet in the middle of Lake Okeechobee, the largest freshwater lake in Florida.
The county seat of Martin County is the city of Stuart, the “Sailfish Capital of the World.”
The former Martin County Courthouse (1937) is now the Courthouse Cultural Center.
Downtown Stuart has an intersection known as Confusion Corner. It has eight different roads entering it, plus a railroad track.
The Stuart Welcome Arch (1926) is actually in the nearby community of Jensen Beach. The city limits were changed after it was constructed.
Jensen Beach has an annual Pineapple Festival, featuring an authentic Bahamian Market.
The wealthy town of Jupiter Island (pop. 817) has been the home of sports and entertainment celebrities such as Tiger Woods, Greg Norman, Celine Dion, and Alan Jackson.
Ocean Breeze (pop. 354) is a town made up entirely of the residents of the Ocean Breeze mobile home park.
The House of Refuge, built on Hutchinson Island in 1876, is the last remaining shipwreck life-saving station on Florida’s Atlantic Coast. It is now a museum.
The unincorporated community of Indiantown is the home of Payson Park Thoroughbred Training Center. Davy Jones (1945-2012) of the Monkees had 14 horses there.
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