Indian River County, Florida
The story of Sebastian
Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.
- 1715Treasure fleet lost
- 1870Fishing village
- 1903First National Wildlife Refuge
- 1992Fisher museum opens
founding
How it started
- 1882
Sebastian was established in 1882, incorporated as a municipality on 6 December 1924 and as a city on 18 May 1925.
etymology
How it got its name
-
The settlement was named St. Sebastian for Saint Sebastian. The town later dropped the St., but the river kept it.
industry
What it lived on
- 1870
Sebastian was a fishing village as early as the 1870s, at the confluence of the St. Sebastian River and the Indian River Lagoon.
claim to fame
What it is known for
- 1715
The 1715 Spanish treasure fleet went down in a storm off this coast. The value lost has been estimated at more than US$500 million, and Mel Fisher opened a permanent museum in Sebastian in 1992.
landmark
What still stands
- 1903
Pelican Island, declared the first National Wildlife Refuge in the United States in 1903.
- 1992
The Mel Fisher treasure museum, established in Sebastian in 1992.