Sebastian is a city in Indian River 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, a ...

, United States at the confluence of the

St. Sebastian River The Saint Sebastian River is a river in the U.S. state of Florida, a tributary of the Indian River west and north of the city of Sebastian. Dredging Dredging Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible re ...

and the Indian River. It is two miles away from 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#Surface, Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Afr ...

. It is the largest city in Indian River County and the biggest population center between Palm Bay, Florida and Fort Pierce, Florida. The city’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism. It has numerous resorts in the local area, such as

Disney's Vero Beach Resort Disney's Vero Beach Resort is a Disney Vacation Club resort located eleven miles north of Vero Beach, Florida. Established in 1995, it was the first Disney Vacation Club resort to be constructed outside the Walt Disney World Resort. Amenities D ...

. It is very close to many natural and scenic areas like the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, Sebastian Inlet State Park, and

St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park is a Florida State Park, located three miles north of Fellsmere. See also * St. Sebastian River * Hernández–Capron Trail The Hernández–Capron Trail also known as the Hernández Trail is a histor ...

. In 2020, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 25,054. Sebastian is a principal city of the Sebastian− Vero Beach

Metropolitan Statistical Area In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...

, which includes all of Indian River County.

History

In 1715, several Spanish ships loaded with treasure (known as the 1715 Treasure Fleet) encountered a storm off the shores of the Treasure Coast and were lost. It is estimated that only a portion of the sunken treasure has been found. The value placed on the treasure lost from the 1715 fleet has been estimated at more than US$500 million. The town of Sebastian was a fishing village as early as the 1870s. In the early 1880s David Peter Gibson and Thomas New settled in the area. New filed to start a post office under the name New Haven. However, New got into legal trouble for misuse of his position as postmaster and was removed. Officially, Sebastian was founded in 1882 and named St. Sebastian, after

Saint Sebastian Saint Sebastian (in Latin: ''Sebastianus''; Narbo, Gallia Narbonensis, Roman Empire c. AD 255 – Rome, Italia, Roman Empire c. AD 288) was an early Christian saint and martyr. According to traditional belief, he was killed during the Diocl ...

. Later, “St.” was removed from the name of the town, but not from the river. Sebastian was incorporated as a city in 1923. Nearby Pelican Island was declared the first National Wildlife refuge in the United States in 1903.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the city has a total land area of .

Climate

Demographics

At the 2020

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 in ...

, There were 25,054 people residing in 10,684 households. The racial make-up of the city was 90.8%

White White is the lightness, 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 diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

, 3.2%

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, 0.20% Native American, 0.40% Asian, and 3.90% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, 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 viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race were 6.70% of the population. 14.4% of the population were people under the age of 18, and 35.5% were people over the age of 65. The average household size was 2.39. 51.6% of the population were female and 48.4% male. The median household income for the city was $54,986 in 2020, and 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 ...

was $32,400. About 10.6% 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 ...

Government

The Government of the City of Sebastian follows a council-manager government model with a five-member city council as the elected governing body and a city manager as the chief operating officer. Members of the city council serve two-year terms with staggered elections.

Public safety

Fire Rescue

Indian River County Fire-Rescue provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the citizens of Sebastian. There are two fire stations assigned to the city: *Station 8 – Engine 8, Rescue 8, Battalion 1. *Station 9 – Quint 9, Rescue 9.

Police Department

The Sebastian Police Department provides police protection for the city. It operates from the municipal complex, and is staffed by approximately 43 sworn officers.

Education

The School District of Indian River County operates public schools. There are three elementary schools (Sebastian Elementary, Pelican Island Elementary and Treasure Coast Elementary, two middle schools (Sebastian River Middle School and Sebastian Charter Junior High) and one high school ( Sebastian River High School) in the city. Located to the west of the city center on County Road 512, the North County Public Library is part of the Indian River County Library System.

Transportation

The GoLine Bus system operates buses out of the North County Transit Hub at 90th Avenue & Sebastian Blvd to various parts of Indian River County.

Notable people

* Bryan Augenstein,

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

in 2009 and 2011; born in Sebastian * Jim Gary, American sculptor, was born in Sebastian * Arlo Guthrie, American folk singer-songwriter * Paul Kroegel, American conservationist

References

External links

City of Sebastian Florida
Portal style website, Government, Business, Library, Recreation and more

Comprehensive Statistical Data and more about Sebastian
ePodunkSebastian Daily
{{authority control Populated places established in 1924 Cities in Indian River County, Florida Populated places on the Intracoastal Waterway in Florida 1924 establishments in Florida Cities in Brevard County, Florida Cities in Florida