The 1715 Fleet Sebastian, Florida

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.

Sebastian Florida East Historic District Harbor Light Motel
Sebastian Florida East Historic District Harbor Light Motel Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0
land 1903 refuge boundary 1715 wreck line 1715 Treasure fleet lost 1870 Fishing village 1903 First National Wildlife Refuge 1992 Fisher museum opens
The 1715 wreck line against the 1903 refuge boundary - treasure and protection on the same water. Schematic; wreck positions are illustrative.

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.

    Sebastian, Florida

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.

    Sebastian, Florida

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.

    Sebastian, Florida

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.

    Sebastian, Florida

landmark

What still stands

  • 1903

    Pelican Island, declared the first National Wildlife Refuge in the United States in 1903.

    Sebastian, Florida

  • 1992

    The Mel Fisher treasure museum, established in Sebastian in 1992.

    Sebastian, Florida

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