Indian River County, Florida

History

Prior to 1821 the area of Indian River County was part of the Spanish colony of East Florida. In 1822 this area became part of St. Johns County, in 1824 it became part of Mosquito County (original name of Orange County), and in 1844 its portion of Mosquito County became part of newly created St. Lucia County. In 1855 St. Lucia County was renamed Brevard County. In 1905 St. Lucie County was formed from the southern portion of Brevard County; in 1925 Indian River County was formed from the northern portion of St. Lucie County. It was named for the Indian River Lagoon, which runs through the eastern portion of the county.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 617 square miles (1,600 km²), of which 503 square miles (1,300 km²) is land and 114 square miles (300 km²) (18.5%) is water.

Adjacent counties

National protected areas

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 112,947 people, 49,137 households, and 32,725 families residing in the county. The population density was 224 people per square mile (87/km²). There were 57,902 housing units at an average density of 115 per square mile (44/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.43% White, 8.19% Black or African American, 0.25% Native American, 0.74% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.15% from other races, and 1.21% from two or more races. 6.53% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 49,137 households out of which 21.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.50% were married couples living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.40% were non-families. 28.20% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.72.

In the county, the population was spread out with 19.20% under the age of 18, 6.00% from 18 to 24, 22.30% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 29.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,635, and the median income for a family was $46,385. Males had a median income of $30,870 versus $23,379 for females. The per capita income for the county was $27,227. About 6.30% of families and 9.30% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.60% of those under age 18 and 5.70% of those age 65 or over.

Airports

Bus systems

GoLine is Indian River County's main method of public transportation. The program was introduced in 1994 to provide an alternative option to driving. Due to County population increases in the early and mid 2000's, Indian River County devised a series of bus routes from Barefoot Bay in southern Brevard County to the south end of Vero Beach. In 2006, GoLine (formerly known as Indian River Transit) was introduced with more stops along and through the Treasure Coast. By 2010, the GoLine system had a total of 14 stops with an additional 4 stops planned for 2011/2012. Riders pay no fare or fee to board the bus, although people are encouraged to donate to the system. Currently the buses operate between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M. on weekdays and from 9:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. on Saturdays. Some routes have extended operating hours depending on location. For route listings please refer to this website http://www.golineirt.com

Train

There is a planned Amtrak station in Vero Beach. Details for the meetings for the initial process are on this page. There are also planned stations in Melbourne and Ft. Pierce, connecting the Space Coast and Treasure Coast regions with the rest of the country.

Economy

It is home to general aviation manufacturer Piper Aircraft and Velocity Aircraft [1], CVS distribution Center. Indian River County is home to the world-famous Indian River Citrus, a locally harvested fruit, that is sold worldwide.

Libraries

Education

Indian River County School District operates public schools. Public high schools include:

Private schools

Colleges and universities

Politics

Indian River County lies at the northern end of a belt stretching to Collier County in the southwest that was the first part of Florida to politically distance itself from the “Solid South”: the last Democrat to win a majority in the county was Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1944. In 1992, indeed, Ross Perot came second, fifteen votes ahead of President-elect Bill Clinton, this being one of only three Florida counties where he did so (in another, Walton County, Perot was only two votes ahead of Clinton).

Cities

Towns