Port St. Lucie, FL

The origins of the name “St. Lucie” trace back to the name of a settlement near Jupiter Inlet which was founded on St. Lucia’s Day in 1566. A multitude of errors led to the name becoming associated with the present day town of St. Lucie Village, Florida, which is just north of Port St. Lucie. It is the third oldest place name in the entire United States, trailing only La Florida and St. Augustine.

In the 1890s Port St. Lucie was originally known as Spruce Bluff, an early pioneer settlement located along the St. Lucie River. This settlement was maintained by several families that had a school, post office, sawmill, and pineapple plantation. Port St. Lucie was still a largely uninhabited tract of land in the 1950s, only having a few farms and businesses near U.S. Highway 1. However, in 1958 the General Development Corporation bought the River Park development and 40,000 acres along the St. Lucie River’s North Fork having a budget of only $5. The next year in 1959 saw the GDC opening its very first bridge  over the river to allow direct automobile access to the town.

With the housing market collapsing and unemployment rising in 2007, changes would soon be made by Port St. Lucie as the county government declared itself a disaster area. Along with $17 million in emergency reserve funds, a transportation fund and other accounts, St. Lucie County gained $20-$30 million to spend on various building projects. Ever since officially becoming a city on April 27, 1961, Port St. Lucie has experienced steady growth as one of Florida’s premier communities.