Before you cross the Wabasso Causeway connecting the mainland to the barrier island there is a…read morehistorical marker in Wabasso Causeway Park. The marker is part of the Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of schools, forts, roads, battlefields, cemeteries, churches, historic districts, archaeological sites, buildings, and bridges like this one. Historic marker F-1137 was installed in 2020 by The Indian River County Historical Society, Tourist Development County of Indian River, and the Florida Department of State. The marker provides information about the history of the Wabasso Bridge. The original bridge sat on what was known as Two Dollar Bluff, a navigational aid for ships on the Indian River since 1887. It was located on property of pioneer and citrus grower A.B. Michael who made Indian River citrus world famous. The bluff was an Ais Indian midden, a kind of ancient garbage dump for the original inhabitants of this area. In 1927 the midden yielded shells, pottery shards, and bones that were used for road material. At different times this area was part of Brevard, St. Lucie, and Indian River counties. The bluff became the Michael family dock. Eventually it was replaced in 1927 with a narrow, wooden bridge with a metal swing span that crossed to the community of Orchid. This bridge allowed travel between the Orchid Island groves and the railroad for transport of citrus. It also opened up the northern part of Indian River County to tourism and land development. During World War II you could only cross the bridge if you lived on the island. On October 5, 1964, a 400-foot section of the old wooden Wabasso Bridge burned. Before it was scrapped the bridge was purchased by Walt Disney World and refurbished for use in the Main Street Railroad. In 1970, the old bridge was replaced with a modern, high-arch bridge causeway over the main channel. For years it was the known as the A.B. Mitchell Wabasso Bridge. In 2020, it was renamed the A.B. Michael Bridge to correct an over fifty year old typo. Today the Wabasso Bridge takes travelers to the beaches of the Treasure Coasts which got its names from Spanish Treasure Fleet that sunk off the coast in a hurricane in 1715.

A great bridge for getting to and fro…read more Imagine if it were not there, though? Swim, or boat or ferry ride Would be the way to cross the tide Though the water is fun to tread I'd rather go over dry instead So thanks to be this bridge I see And to traverse it safely, thankfully!

I discovered this historic marker while driving through Fellsmere to the St. Sebastian River…read morePreserve State Park. This marker is part of the Florida Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of schools, forts, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, cemeteries, churches. historic buildings and roads like this one. Historic marker F-404 was installed in 1999 by the St. Johns River Water Management District, Indian River County Historical Society, and Florida Department of State. The Fellsmere Grade is an old road that was a vital transportation route in the early 20th century, connecting Fellsmere to the surrounding areas. Promoted as the Fellsmere-Tampa cross state road, this road allowed travel between the interior and the coast by crossing over the St. Johns River marshes. This allowed access to the town by sportsman who were vital for Fellsmere economy. In the late 1940's the Fellsmere Grade bridges burned across the river and the road ended in the marsh six miles from this site. Today this road serves the public as access to the Fellsmere Grade Recreation Area which is a part of the head waters of the St. John's River. This area was created to help restore the river's functions while providing flood protection down stream. Farmlands were turned back into marshland, nearly eliminating fresh water discharges into the Indian River Lagoon from the C-54 canal. This 10,000 acre wetland is one of the largest wetland restoration projects in history, giving b back lost habitat to wildlife, waterfowl and fish.

This building was originally used as the public school in Fellsmere. It was added to the national…read moreregister of Historic Places in 1996 because it is the oldest masonry school in Indian river County. The building was constructed in 1915 and 1916 for a cost of $40,000. It was designed by architect Frederick Trimble and built by contractor Arthur Sander. 136 students in grades 1-12 began school in the building on Oct. 2, 1916. The school operated until 1982. When the town wanted to restore the building thirty years later they raised $650,000. A hurricane tore the roof off the building ruining everything they had done but they were able to restore it again with FEMA and insurance money. The FAU design department suggested placing city hall in the historic school building to combine Fellsmere's past with it's future. The Boys and Girl club needed a home so they moved into the building too. In 2010 the building once again reopened to the public. There is a marker out front of that relates the historical significance of the building. I had the opportunity to explore the building when I attended an event by Indian River Hauntings. We began our paranormal historic tour at the building and ended it there as well. During our initial presentation we could hear loud clanking by the elevator and no one was over there. Also the people sitting at the top of the stairs swore they could hear footsteps behind them in the hallway when again no one was there. I don't know for sure if the building is haunted but there were quite a few stories about it. In any case the building is exquisite.They don't build them like that any more. The wood work and windows were amazing. My favorite part of the building was the auditorium with the art deco detail on the side of the seats that were original from 1915. The old school is a beautiful historic building in quaint old Florida town.

The Bensen House marker is part of the Florida Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of…read moreHistorical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of schools, forts, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, cemeteries, churches. and historic buildings like the one. Historic marker F-629 was installed in 2008 by Brevard County Historical Commission, Brevard County Tourism Development Council, and the Florida Department of State. This home is a Florida Heritage Site. The Bensen House was built in 1916 by Atley Bensen for his wife Clara Christensen. The dating pool being rather small at the time led to the Bensen brothers marrying the Christensen sisters. Both were from Danish families who helped shape the community of Grant. The Bensen, the Christensen and the Jorgensen families arrived in the area in 1892 after being lured by advertisements in Danish-language newspapers in Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. The families were promised delightful weather, fresh caught seafood, and wonderful living conditions. They left out the scorching heat, unexpected freezes, mosquitos, and alligators that awaited them. Atley Bensen paid a dollar a foot for the precut yellow pine lumber to build the house. It arrived by riverboat from Jacksonville. Aluminum shingles protected the pitched roof while porches on the front and back caught the cooling breezes from the Indian River. The two brothers built side by side houses on the river for their brides. The Benson home had one bedroom for Atley and Clara and one for the children. Atley Bensen and his brother both worked as commercial fishermen and they farmed pineapple on an island on the river across from their homes until a big freeze in the 1900's killed the pineapple crop. They also operated the Jorgensen General Store, which opened in 1894. Atley and Clara lived in the house with sons, Atley Jr. and Russell until they were school age, and then moved to Melbourne where she felt the children could get a better education. Son Edward Hartman was born in 1928. The Bensen House was rented for about five years until the family returned. Atley died in 1961. Clara continued to live in the house, and then later moved to Tampa where she died in 1981. Son Russell donated the cracker style house to the Grant Historical Society in 1984 after the family decided they wanted to build their own home on the land. In 1985, the house was moved from its original site, to this location in Fisherman's Landing Park. This was the original site of Grant's first house built in 1894 by Louis Kossuth "Honey" Smith. The Smith house burned down in the 1970's. The Bensen House is now a museum you can visit for free but they are appreciative of what ever you are able to donate. I had the pleasure of meeting volunteers Christine and Peggy and receiving a tour of the house during which I learned a lot about the Benson family. The tour started off in the kitchen where I was shown a 1909 fireless cooker that was the forerunner of the crockpot. Clara made her overnight oats in it. The next rooms were the dining room and parlor where family photos hang on the wall. The furniture is period pieces because not much remains of what the Benson's actually owned. The children's bedroom doubles as a craft sale where the ladies of the Grant Historical Society sell there handmade items to raise money to maintain the house. Atley and Clara's bedroom contains the family bible from the Netherlands stamped 1699. Also in the bedroom is Clara's wedding dress. At the foot of the bed is their neighbor Jorgasen's trunk that came over from Denmark and is marked 1874 The Grant Historical Society hosts different fundraisers at the house throughout the year. I believe the next event is a fish fry. Follow the Bensen House on Facebook for more details. I enjoyed my tour and meeting Christine and Peggy. Usually I only get to read the historic sign and what was once there is long gone. It is so nice that this house has been so beautifully preserved through the hard work of dedicated volunteers. I got to step back in time to see what life was like in Grant for a pioneer family.

The Tangelo House was formerly known as Ryburn's Apartment Building. It is located in the Royal…read morePark subdivision developed by Waldo Sexton and the Atlantic Construction Corporation. Arthur G. McKee was an early investor in the company and handled the lot sales. Mr. Ryburn purchased lot 8 on July 21,1926 for the construction of an right unit, two story apartment building. The building was designed in the Mission Revival style of architecture. One of the most notable early tenants was Bud Holman who was instrumental in bringing the Dodgers to Vero Beach. The Tangelo is the last remaining of four similarly built apartment from the 1920's along Royal Palm Blvd. The Waverly, The Penn, and the Flora are no longer standing. Mr. Ryburn sold the apartments to his son Alexander in 1931. In 1947 the carriage house in the back was remodeled into two apartments. In the 1950's the building became known as the Tangelo and there are three tangelo trees on the property. The Tangelo is the first apartment building to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. Current apartment owners, Garrett and Stephanie Puzzo have restored the building back to its originally glory and today it was open for $6 tours in an event benefitting the Indian River Historical society. It was a lot of fun exploring the apartments. They are very small, but charming with arched doorways, built in shelves, and the original tubs. Most of the floors are original too as are the steel doorknobs and brass window cranks. In the center of the building is an eight foot by eight foot atrium letting in light and channeling rainwater from the roof. There was also art for sale in each room. When the building was constructed, apartments rented for $60 a month. Now most of the apartments have already been rented for between $1,400 and $1,800 a month. The upstairs apartment are larger with an additional corner room and balcony. The Tangelo Apartments in Vero Beach has been named the most haunted location on the Treasure Coast by the Florida Bureau of Paranormal Investigations. During investigations they have encountered a little girl. After the day time apartment tours finishes, Indian River Hauntings conducted a paranormal investigation open to the public for an $11 donation to the Indian River Historical Society.

Beautifully restored building in a beautiful part of Vero Beach. Great job for the people that did…read morethe restoration!

I love historic abandoned buildings so I was so excited to find this amazing 1914 Catholic School…read moreon Orange Ave. in Ft. Pierce. The school was built by James P. McNichol, a senator from Philadelphia who used to come to Florida in the winter to fish. The school, a wood church, rectory, and convent were built to serve around 30 Catholic families in the area. A pastor rode into town once a month. McNichol's deceased wife was named Anastasia, so the school was named for St. Anastasia. The first pastor of the church was Father Rupert Gabriel. The high school remained in the building until the fall of 1965, when the last of the students moved to the new St. Anastasia High School. In 1978, the Miami Diocese sold the property for $120,000. The church, rectory, and convent buildings have since been demolished. Today only the school remains and it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on August 10,2000. The school suffered damage Hurricane Frances and Jeanne. In 2008 a new roof was added by REG Architects and Summit Construction of Vero Beach LLC. They were able to stabilize the building. New windows were added in 2014 on the buildings 100th anniversary. Some of them have since been smashed. Ft. Pierce is currently looking for someone to take over the property and perhaps turn it into some kind of center for the arts.

The Birthplace For Equal Suffrage For Women historic marker is part of the Florida Historical…read moreMarker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of schools, forts, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, cemeteries, churches. and historic buildings. Historic marker F-519 was installed in 2004 by the National Organization for Women -Indian River and the Florida Department of State. An interesting fact about Fellsmere Florida is that is known as the birthplace for equal suffrage for women in Florida. In February 1915, citizens met to incorporate the city of 500 residents and establish a charter. Included in the formal request to the state of Florida was a proposal that women be "granted full and equal privilege for suffrage in municipal elections." Legend has it that a lot was going on in the state government at the time and so nobody took the time to read the whole bill. When the city was incorporated it was the first time women were allowed to vote in Florida. Mrs. Zena M. Dreier was the first woman to cast a ballot in Fellsmere, in all of Florida, and south of the Mason-Dixon Line. It would be another five years until Congress ratified the 18th amendment In 1919, a U.S. Constitutional amendment granted suffrage to women. By that time women were already voting in Fellsmere. The decision to include women in the electoral process was a testament to the town's progressive spirit and the recognition of women's contributions to the community. I love learning interesting and unique history facts. Every time I see the sign for the town of Fellsmere I think about how they led the way for women's rights in Florida. You can find this historical marker at the end of Broad street a few blocks down from the Marsh Landing.

This historic theater building opened on October 20, 1924 in Vero Beach. It was previously known as…read morethe Vero Theatre or Florida Theatre. The 800-seat theatre was designed by architect F.H. Trimble and was the city's first motion picture theatre. The building was designed in Mediterranean Revival style that was popular in Florida during the land boom years in the 1920's. It has the stucco exterior walls and terra cotta decorative tiles that were popular style elements of the time. On opening day, the first feature film shown was The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Even a potential hurricane with torrential rain could not stop people from coming out even though the rain resulted in the flooding of the theatre's $10,400 pipe organ temporarily putting it out of commission. This theatre is directly responsible for the creation of Indian River County. In 1925, St. Lucie County Sheriff J.R. Merritt began Sunday raids of the theater to enforce the county's blue laws which restricted certain businesses and activities on Sunday. Farmers enjoyed taking their families to town on Sunday to watch a film and pointed out that blue laws ere not enforced in St. Lucie. The theater manager William Atkin, ticket seller William Frick and theater operator Henry Metz were all arrested. Eventually even the first mayor and part theatre owner Rep. A.W. Young was also arrested. in response Vero representatives went to Tallahassee to form their own county, The Legislature approved the bill in May, naming Vero the county seat of the new Indian River County. Governor John Martin signed it into law in June 1925 creating Indian River County. The last film to be shown in the theatre was Desperately Seeking Susan. The theatre closed shortly after due to competition from larger, more modern movie theaters. This was the only movie theater in Vero Beach before World War II, and is one of the last commercial buildings from the 1920's in downtown Vero. In 1990, the building was purchased and turned into apartments upstairs and retail stores on the ground level. Over the years, there have been intermittent efforts to refurbish the inside of the theater. On April 28, 1992 the historic theater was added to the National register of Historic Places. Today new life is being brought to the old building with the opening of businesses like Downtown Dippers, an ice cream shop.