Fort Pierce, Florida facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Fort Pierce, Florida
City
City of Fort Pierce
Seal
Nickname(s):  Sunrise City
Location in St. Lucie County and the state of Florida
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	St. Lucie
Area
• Total	29.84 sq mi (77.29 km2)
• Land	23.79 sq mi (61.62 km2)
• Water	6.05 sq mi (15.67 km2)
Elevation	16 ft (5 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	47,297
• Density	1,988.02/sq mi (767.59/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Codes	34945-34951, 34954, 34979, 34981-34982
FIPS code	12-24300
GNIS feature ID	0307964

Fort Pierce is a city in and the county seat of St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Treasure Coast region of Atlantic Coast Florida. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Sunset City. The population was 41,590 at the 2010 census. As of 2019, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 46,103.

Geography

Fort Pierce is located at 27°26′20″N 80°20′8″W / 27.43889°N 80.33556°W / 27.43889; -80.33556 (27.438817, -80.335471).

According to the U. S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 20.8 mi² (53.8 km²), of which 14.7 square miles (38.2 km²) is land and 6.0 square miles (15.6 km²) of it (35.00%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 41,910 people, 15,170 households, and 9,418 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,021.9 people per square mile (982.7/km²). There were 17,170 housing units at an average density of 1,164.7/sq mi (449.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 40.9% African American, 45.3% White, 0.6% Native American, 0.9% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino were 21.6% of the population.

There were 15,170 households, out of which 32.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.3% were married couples living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.50.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 25.9% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 20 to 24, 13.3% from 25 to 34, 13.0% from 45 to 54, 9.8% from 55 to 64 and 6.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $30,869, and the median income for a family was $36,337. Males had a median income of $32,412 versus $26,349 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,782. 30.2% of the population were below the poverty line.

Climate

The climate of Ft. Pierce is generally a humid subtropical climate, although it closely borders a tropical savanna climate. Summertime temperatures range between 80 and 100 degrees F. Temperatures in the winter range between 55 and 80 degrees F, although some winter days can drop down below 40 degrees, but rarely fall below freezing.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Fort Pierce is located on U.S. Route 1, near its intersection with Florida State Road 70. Interstate 95 and Florida's Turnpike are nearby, at the west edge of town. The Intracoastal Waterway passes through the city. The nearest airport with scheduled passenger service is in Melbourne; the closest major airport is in West Palm Beach. The city itself has a general aviation airport, Treasure Coast International Airport.

Fort Pierce is served by the St. Lucie Transportation Planning Organization (TPO). The TPO is a Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organization responsible for transportation planning, programming, and financing of State and Federal transportation funds for the City of Fort Pierce. The TPO is governed by a TPO Board, which is composed of elected officials, representatives from the St. Lucie County School Board, and representatives from Community Transit, a division of The Council on Aging of St. Lucie, Inc. The original bus system started as a demand response service bus in the 1990s; it only served St. Lucie County. Soon it expanded to a fixed route system, going to predetermined locations along a route. On June 3, 2002, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) approved funding, expanding the bus service to Martin County, and it became the Treasure Coast Connector.

From 1894 to 1968 the Florida East Coast Railway served the city as a passenger railroad. Until a strike beginning in 1963, several long distance passenger trains from Chicago, Cincinnati and New York City made stops there, en route to Miami. These long distances trains included the Illinois Central Railroad's City of Miami and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad's South Wind both heading from Chicago; and they included the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad's East Coast Champion, the Havana Special, and the winter-only Florida Special originating from New York. Into the latter 1950s, passengers could take the Dixie Flagler to Chicago via Atlanta from the station. The FEC continued a six day a week Jacksonville-Miami train from 1965 to 1968, per court order.

Amtrak and the Florida East Coast Railway have been planning to make stations along Florida's East Coast. The latter operations would be part of the second phase of the private Brightline inter-city rail project. The cities cited by Amtrak and the Florida Department of Transportation include: Stuart, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Melbourne, Titusville, Cocoa, Daytona Beach and St. Augustine, Florida. In 2018, Brightline announced that it was looking at downtown properties for a site for a new station for the train between Fort Pierce and Miami. Ultimately, the northwestern terminus would be Orlando, with service beginning in 2021.

Tourist attractions

A.E. Backus Museum and Gallery

• A.E. Backus Museum and Gallery
• Arcade Building
• Art Mundo at the Art Bank
• Boston House
• Dust Tracks of Zora Neale Hurston
• Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
• Heathcote Botanical Gardens
• Historic Main Street
• Florida Power and Light Energy Encounter
• Lincoln Park Main Street
• Old Fort Pierce City Hall
• Old Fort Park
• Manatee Center
• Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (Fort Pierce was the original home of the United States Navy SEALs)
• Smithsonian Marine Ecosystem Exhibit
• St. Lucie County Marine Center
• St. Lucie County Regional History Center
• Sunrise Theatre

Economy

Fort Pierce Harbor

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, an average of 350,000 tons of waterborne commerce moves through Fort Pierce Harbor annually. Major commodities which are dependent on the port include citrus exports, cement and aragonite imports. The last navigation improvements at Fort Pierce were authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Water Resources Development Act of 1988 dated November 17, 1988 and construction was completed in August 1996. The existing entrance channel is 400 feet wide and 30 feet deep, the interior channel is 250 feet wide and 28 feet deep, the existing turning basin is 1,100 feet square and 28 feet deep, and the north access channel is located immediately north of the main turning basin is 1,250 feet long, 250 feet wide and 28 feet deep.

In late 2014 dredging efforts were completed in Fort Pierce Harbor. The dredging effort included both beach placement of beach quality sand on the beach immediately south of the Inlet as well as placement of non beach quality sand in the approved offshore disposal area.

Education

Public high schools in the city include Fort Pierce Central High School, Fort Pierce Westwood Academy: The WEST Prep Magnet and Lincoln Park Academy. Private schools include John Carroll Catholic High School and Faith Baptist School (Treasure Coast Baptist Academy) Private middle schools inside city limits include Saint Andrew's Academy and Saint Anastasia Middle School.

Indian River State College is also located in Fort Pierce.

Notable people

Zora Neale Hurston's house

Actors

• Ricou Browning, director, actor, producer, screenwriter, underwater cinematographer and stuntman best known for portraying Gill-Man underwater in Universal's Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) and its two sequels Revenge of the Creature (1955), and The Creature Walks Among Us (1956)
• Michael P. Nash, Filmmaker

Businesspeople

• Edwin Binney, co-founder of Crayola Crayons

Writers and artists

• A.E. "Beanie" Backus, artist and painter
• Zora Neale Hurston, author best known for the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God

Musicians

• Ted Hewitt, country music producer- produces Country Music artist Rodney Atkins
• Gary Stewart, country singer

Politicians

• Mark Foley, former U.S. Congressman
• Daniel T. McCarty, 31st Governor of Florida
• Allen R. Sturtevant, Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court

Activists

• Roslyn M. Brock, Chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Sports

• Jeff Blackshear, NFL guard for the Seattle Seahawks, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers
• Jamar Chaney, NFL linebacker
• Yamon Figurs, NFL and CFL wide receiver
• Charles Johnson, Former MLB catcher for the Florida Marlins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies and Tampa Bay Rays
• Ladislav Karabin, retired Czechoslovakian hockey player, who played for the Pittsburgh Penguins
• Khalil Mack, NFL linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers
• Terry McGriff, MLB catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals
• Ryan McNeil, NFL defensive back
• Wonder Monds, NFL defensive back
• Luther Robinson, NFL defensive end
• Larry Sanders, Former NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks and Cleveland Cavaliers
• Jeff Schwarz, Former MLB pitcher for the Chicago White Sox and California Angels
• Herbert Strong, professional golfer and golf course architect
• LaDaris Vann, Former CFL player for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers

Other

• Louise Gopher, the first Seminole woman to earn a bachelor's degree
• John Houghtaling, creator of the Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed
• CeeCee Lyles, Flight attendant on United Airlines Flight 93

See also

In Spanish: Fort Pierce para niños