Hobe Sound is an

unincorporated area An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

and

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, such ...

(CDP) in Martin County,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, United States, located along Florida's

Treasure Coast The Treasure Coast is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is located on Florida's East Coast, bordering the Atlantic Ocean and comprising Indian River, Martin, and St. Lucie counties. The region, whose name refers to the Spanish Treasure ...

. The population was 13,163 at the 2020 census, up from 11,521 in 2010.

Geography

Hobe Sound is located in southeastern Martin County at . It is an exurban area near the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, approximately north of

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

and southeast of Stuart. It stretches along the coast between

Port Salerno Port Salerno is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Martin County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,401 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Port St. Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Port S ...

to the north and

Jonathan Dickinson State Park Jonathan Dickinson State Park is a Florida State Park and historic site located in Martin County, Florida, between Hobe Sound and Tequesta. The park includes the Elsa Kimbell Environmental Education and Research Center and a variety of natural ...

to the south. To the east, across South Jupiter Narrows, is

Jupiter Island Jupiter Island is a barrier island on the coast of Martin and Palm Beach counties, Florida. It is bounded on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the north by the St. Lucie Inlet, on the west by the Indian River, and on the south by the Jupiter ...

. Hobe Sound Public Beach, within the town of

, is one of Martin County's four guarded beaches.

History

Hobe Sound is the

anglicized Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influenc ...

form of the name of a village of the

Jaega The Jaega (also Jega, Xega, Jaece, Geiga) were Native Americans living in a chiefdom of the same name, which included the coastal parts of present-day Martin County and northern Palm Beach County, Florida at the time of initial European contac ...

, a Native American group that lived in the area before European settlement. The Spanish recorded the village name as "Jobe" or "Jove" .

Jonathan Dickinson Jonathan Dickinson (1663–1722) was a merchant from Port Royal, Jamaica who was shipwrecked on the southeast coast of Florida in 1696, along with his family and the other passengers and crew members of the ship. The party was held captive by Job ...

, whose party was shipwrecked near the town in 1696, spelled the name of the village "Hoe-bey". Parts of Hobe Sound were included in the Gomez grant given by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

to Don Eusebio in 1815. In 1821, Gomez sold , including Jupiter Island, to Joseph Delespine for $1 per acre. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, Henry Flagler built his railroad along the east coast of Florida, passing through Hobe Sound. This gradually created many opportunities including jobs, the birth of tourism, and other related industries. Bubble Houses, Hobe Sound, Florida 006

During the land boom of the 1920s elaborate plans were announced for Hobe Sound by the Olympia Improvement Corporation. Their goal was to create a town, in Greek style, where motion pictures could be produced. Street names bore such names as Zeus, Saturn, Mercury, Mars, Olympus, Venus, Pluto and Athena. For a brief time Hobe Sound was renamed " Picture City" and plans were presented for a movie picture production center. The boom collapsed after the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane, and the original name was restored. Street names remained, however, as did the cement streetlights along Dixie Highway. In 1924, the building which soon would become the new schoolhouse in Hobe Sound was constructed. The Martin County Board of Public Instruction secured the use of the new school building from the Picture City Corporation in 1925, and in October of that year, the

Olympia School The Olympia School, also known as the Picture City School, the Hobe Sound White School, the Apollo Street School and now the Apollo School, is an historic two-room elementary school building located at 9141 Southeast Apollo Street in Hobe Sound, M ...

opened. The school was designated the "Picture City School" of Martin County. It remained in use as a school until 1962. Other mementos of the past are gone, including the ice plant, which was south of Bridge Road; the old train station, which now, refurbished and relocated west of Hobe Sound, serves as an office building for Becker Groves; and the Texaco station east of the Winn-Dixie plaza, which no longer supplies gasoline but continues to serve the community with car rentals and a livery service, operated by its founding family. Hobe Sound is positioned at the southern end of environmentally-sensitive Martin (named after Governor Martin) County. It has been stated that at Hobe Sound's front door lies the Gold Coast and that at her back door lies the Treasure Coast. Thus, Hobe Sound can lend to both while retaining its proud heritage and unique personality. Hobe Sound's proximity to the coast affords immediate access to the Atlantic Ocean and the deep-channeled

Intracoastal Waterway The Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) is a inland waterway along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States, running from Massachusetts southward along the Atlantic Seaboard and around the southern tip of Florida, then following th ...

, a water route that provides a sheltered passage for boats along the eastern seaboard. Another significant historical association possessed by Hobe Sound is the brief stay there of former Defense Secretary

James Forrestal James Vincent Forrestal (February 15, 1892 – May 22, 1949) was the last Cabinet-level United States Secretary of the Navy and the first United States Secretary of Defense. Forrestal came from a very strict middle-class Irish Catholic fami ...

in 1949 between his resignation from that post and his death. Around 1:30 a.m. on March 14, 1997, President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

fell on the steps and twisted his knee at golfer

Greg Norman Gregory John Norman AO (born 10 February 1955) is an Australian entrepreneur and retired professional golfer who spent 331 weeks as world number one in the 1980s and 1990s. He won 89 professional tournaments, including 20 PGA Tour tournament ...

's 80-acre oceanside estate in Hobe Sound. Clinton was staying there to play in a golf tournament sponsored by Norman. Hobe Sound is a predominantly wealthy community whose residents have included such celebrities and other prominent persons as "Tiger" Woods, Alan Jackson, Celine Dion, Burt Reynolds, and

Marion Margery Scranton Marion Margery Warren Scranton (April 12, 1884 – June 23, 1960) was a 20th century women’s suffrage activist and leading member of the Republican Party in the United States. Known as “the Duchess and the Grand Old Dame of the Grand Old Par ...

, among others. Over the decades, it was home or a winter home for wealthy businessman and industrialists, politicians, and sports and entertainment celebrities. Police protection for Hobe Sound is provided by the Martin County Sheriff's Department. The Martin County Fire Rescue Department provides modern fire, rescue, as well as EMS Services. State-of-the-art inter-facility EMS services are also provided by the Martin Health System.

Counties

Hobe Sound has been part of the following counties: * St. Johns County, 1821-1824 * Mosquito County, now Orange County, 1824-1844 *

Brevard County Brevard County ( ) is a county located in the east central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 606,612, making it the 10th-most populated county in Florida. The official county seat is located in ...

, 1844-1866. Note: The present-day Brevard County was known as St. Lucie County from 1844-1855, but it was not the same county as today's St. Lucie County. * Dade County, 1866-1909 *

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

, 1909-1925 * Martin County, 1925–present

Demographics

2020 census

As of the

2020 U.S. census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, there were 13,163 people, 6,079 households, and 3,397 families residing in the CDP.

2000 census

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

of 2000, there were 11,376 people, 5,176 households, and 3,266 families residing in the CDP. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...

was 2,082.8 persons per square mile (804.5/km²). There were 6,042 housing units at an average density of 1,106.2 houses per square mile (427.3/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 91.98%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 5.79%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.60%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.64% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.81% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race were 2.22% of the population. There were 5,176 households, out of which 18.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 6.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 31.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.66. In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 16.8% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 20.5% from 25 to 44, 24.9% from 45 to 64, and 33.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 51 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $36,541, and the median income for a family was $45,412. Males had a median income of $36,943 versus $27,773 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the CDP was $21,603. About 3.7% of families and 5.5% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...

, including 3.7% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Travel in Hobe Sound is predominantly performed by private automobile. There are no interstate highways in Hobe Sound; the nearest,

Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1, US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between M ...

, is west. Hobe Sound is dominated by

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...

, a four- and six-lane

arterial road An arterial road or arterial thoroughfare is a high-capacity urban road that sits below freeways/motorways on the road hierarchy in terms of traffic flow and speed. The primary function of an arterial road is to deliver traffic from collector ro ...

that runs north to south. Other important throughways include

Florida State Road A1A State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West, Florida, Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, Florida, Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia ( ...

(locally known as a part of the old '

Dixie Highway Dixie Highway was a United States auto trail first planned in 1914 to connect the Midwest with the South. It was part of a system and was expanded from an earlier Miami to Montreal highway. The final system is better understood as a network of ...

'), Bridge Road, Gomez Avenue, and Osprey Street. US 1 arguably represents the central business district though some commercial activity occurs on Dixie Highway (A1A) near Bridge Road.

Mass transit

Martin County Public Transit (MARTY) provides fixed-route bus service through Hobe Sound. Hobe Sound located on MARTY bus route 4 and route 20x. Bus route 20x offers service to Palm Beach County, and connects with

Palm Tran Palm Tran is the public transit bus system run by the Palm Beach County Government, serving Palm Beach County, Florida. In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . Palm Tran also serves a portion of Broward County, Florida ...

bus service. The Community Coach, a service of the Council on Aging of Martin County, is an additional public transportation service for Martin County. It operates a curb-to-curb, advance reservation, shared ride service and also operates fixed-route services in other parts of the county. The closest

Tri-Rail Tri-Rail is a commuter rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida, United States. The ''Tri'' prefix in the name refers to the three counties served by the railroad: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade. Tri-Rail ...

commuter railroad station is located in

Mangonia Park Mangonia Park is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is a part of Uptown West Palm, which also includes Riviera Beach and West Palm Beach. The population was 1,888 at the 2010 census. As of 2018, the population recorded by the ...

to the south.

Railroads

The Florida East Coast Railway runs through Hobe Sound parallel to

A1A State Road A1A (SR A1A) is a major north–south Florida State Road that runs along the Atlantic Ocean, from Key West at the southern tip of Florida, to Fernandina Beach, just south of Georgia on Amelia Island. It is the main road throug ...

. At-grade crossings can be found at (from north to south) A1A, Osprey Street, Crossrip Street, Pettway Street, Bridge Road, and Gleason Street. Until 1963 long distance trains, '' East Coast Champion,'' ''

City of Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at t ...

,'' ''Havana Special'' and ''

South Wind A south wind is a wind that originates in the south and blows in a northward direction. Words used in English to describe the south wind are auster, buster (a violent south gale), föhn/foehn (alps), ghibli (Libya with various spellings), friage ...

,'' served Hope Sound's station. Until 1957 the ''Dixieland,'' (''nee'' ''

Dixie Flagler The ''Dixie Flagler'' was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) between Chicago, Illinois and Miami, Florida. It began in 1939 as the ''Henry M. Flagler'', a regional service between Miami and Jacksonville, ...

'') made stops there as well. Until 1968 local Jacksonville to Miami trains made stops at Hobe Sound. There are plans to extend the high-speed

Brightline Brightline (reporting mark BLFX) is an inter-city rail route between Miami and West Palm Beach, Florida that runs on track owned by Florida East Coast Railway. Brightline is the only privately owned and operated intercity passenger railroad ...

rail system and add a station in Stuart to the north. Currently, the West Palm Beach Brightline station is the closest stop to Hobe Sound. The historic

West Palm Beach station West Palm Beach station is a train station in West Palm Beach, Florida. It is served by Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It o ...

is also served by Tri-Rail, and is the closest

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

stop to Hobe Sound.

Airports

The closest airport to Hobe Sound is Witham Field, and is located in Stuart. This airport is primarily used for

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

. The closest airport offering commercial service is

Palm Beach International Airport Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport in Palm Beach County, Florida, located just west of the city of West Palm Beach, Florida, United States, which it serves as the primary airport for. It is also the primary airport for most o ...

Education

The

Hobe Sound Bible College Hobe Sound Bible College is a private Bible college in Hobe Sound, Florida. It is a part of the conservative holiness movement and aligned with Wesleyan-Arminian (Methodist) theology. History First known as Hobe Sound Bible Institute, the c ...

is the only institution that provides

post-secondary education Tertiary education, also referred to as third-level, third-stage or post-secondary education, is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank, for example, defines tertiary education as including univers ...

within Hobe Sound. Private schools include the

Hobe Sound Christian Academy Hobe Sound Christian Academy (HSCA) is a private, PreK-12 Christian school which shares the campus of Hobe Sound Bible College, about 25 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida. Hobe Sound Christian Academy began in 1960 as a service to the chil ...

. Publicly run schools include Hobe Sound Elementary and Seawind Elementary Schools. Residents of Hobe Sound attend Murray Middle School and South Fork High School. The Pine School (formerly St. Michael's Independent) is now located on its new campus in Hobe Sound. This prestigious private school has a college preparatory program and educational opportunities for Kindergarten through 12th grade students. The campus offers education covering the basic arts (graphics, music, and media).

Notable people

* Ted Cabot, lawyer, politician, and judge *

, No. 1 ranked golfer in the 1980s and 90s *

Mary Oliver Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 – January 17, 2019) was an American poet who won the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Her work is inspired by nature, rather than the human world, stemming from her lifelong passion for solitary ...

,'Mary Oliver'
''

Encyclopædia Britannica Online An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into article ...

'', retrieved January 30, 2019. poet * Nathaniel Reed, Assistant Director Dept. of the Interior *

Vanessa Rousso Vanessa Ashley Rousso (born February 5, 1983) is a French-American attorney and professional poker player, DJ, and television personality. Born in White Plains, New York, Rousso holds dual citizenship with the United States and France. Rousso ...

, professional poker player and ''Big Brother'' 17 contestant *

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

activist, leading member of the Republican Party in the United States, and a member of the prominent

Scranton family The Scrantons are a family prominent in the business and political history of Pennsylvania: * George Whitfield Scranton (1811–1861), United States Congressman, 1859–1861. * Joseph A. Scranton (1838–1908), United States Congressman, 1 ...

Worthington Scranton Worthington Scranton (August 29, 1876 – February 13, 1955) was a 20th-century American lawyer, businessman, and philanthropist who became president of the Scranton Gas and Water Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, a city which was named after his ...

, businessman, lawyer, and philanthropist, and member of the prominent

Sources

History
Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce

References

External links

*
Hobe Sound Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Census-designated places in Martin County, Florida Port St. Lucie metropolitan area Populated places on the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida Census-designated places in Florida