Located on Florida's Treasure Coast, Martin County is the site of several shipwrecks from the 1700s when Spanish galleons carrying gold and silver doubloons and other treasures wrecked offshore in a hurricane. Other ships met the same fate over the years and in 1875, a U.S. Lifesaving Station was established on Hutchinson Island. It still stands today as Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge and is listed on the National Register for Preservation of Historic Places.

Those early settlers came to stay in an area once known as Potsdam and in 1895 changed to Stuart, honoring Homer Stuart for his hospitality and business acumen. It also stopped railroad conductors on the Florida East Coast Railway from yelling out "Pots, Dam Pots!" as they announced the stop at the Stuart station. It was insulting to the ladies of the community and renaming the town Stuart ended many a squabble.

The 20s were a boom time for Florida. But for as quickly as it all developed, it all went bust as many land investors pulled out of the state. In addition, two devastating hurricanes in the late 20s wiped out many agricultural crops, besides destroying houses and businesses. Today the markers at the Port Mayaca cemetery are just a small example of the storms that changed the face of Martin County's communities.

As the country moved into the 40s,50s and 60s, it began to grow with many new residents from the north. Camp Murphy, an Army base at Jonathon Dickinson State Park during World War II, was home for many soldiers who later settled in the area.

During the 70s, the county started to feel the pinch of Florida's sprawling landscape with an outpouring of the many south Florida residents exiting Miami and Fort Lauderdale to find a more tranquil home. That migration continues today as the country grows in leaps and bounds, making a new history for one of the fastest growing areas in the state.