Hobe Sound - Hutchinson Island - Jensen Beach - Jupiter Island - Palm City - Port Salerno - Sewall's Point - Stuart

About the Town:

Situated on a peninsula at the eastern edge of Florida’s Martin County, Sewall's Point is truly a waterfront community. The town's approximately 2,000 residents find themselves surrounded by water, bordered by the St. Lucie River to the south and west and the Indian River Lagoon to the east. Located about 40 miles north of West Palm Beach and just minutes from Hutchinson Island's sandy coast, the tight-knit community of Sewall's Point is a model for scenic Treasure Coast waterfront.

History:

Sewall’s Point, a long peninsula separating the Saint Lucie River and the Indian River Lagoon in Martin County, is a relatively new town, but an old community which can trace its recorded history back to the Spanish occupation.

In 1815, the Spanish gave Don Esubio Gomez 12,000 acres of land. At the end of the Second Seminole War, the government encouraged settlement through the Armed Occupation Act of 1842, and a woman identified as Josephine Walter claim land on the point but then abandoned it.

Historian Sandra Thurlow in her book Sewall’s Point, says the first pioneers were the family of William Baker, who settled at Waveland on the north end of the point, and opened a post office.

Through a series of land sales, Henry Sewall gained ownership of the peninsula and built his home on the tip in 1889.

Sewall built a long dock and a post office, complementing the post offices established further north.

Shortly after, Charles Racey purchased the land known as Mount Elizabeth and built a mansion for his wife. The arrival of the wealthy residents set the mold for the community. It did have many farmers growing beans and pineapples, but it was soon to become the home of the High Point Rod and Gun Club, a wintering spot for politically powerful Philadelphians.

Still later, publisher Willard Kiplinger of the Washington Kiplinger Letters, would create the Bay Tree Lodge, a resort for his employees.

Another famous resident was Hugh de Laussat Willoughby, a self-described “gentleman” who did not work, but explored the Everglades, helped spread the use of bicycles, served as an assistant to Orville Wright and later an advisor of Gen. Bill Mitchell. He built a home on the point and flew his planes over the area.

Sewall’s Point became a town in 1957, and its residents have striven to maintain the upscale residential character of the community which has one shopping center, one traffic signal, and looks both east and west over two mighty bridges, the Ernest Lyons Bridge and the Evans Crary Bridge.

It is almost completely built out, so its character is unlikely to change in the future.

Fast Facts:

• Sewall's Point is named for Henry E. Sewall, early settler in 1889.

• In 2007, the town of Sewall’s Point celebrated its 50th Anniversary.

• “Across the Everglades” was written by Hugh L. Willoughby in 1898.

• Sewall’s Point is bordered by the Indian River and the St. Lucie River.

• Tori Amos, famous singer-songwriter, owns a home in Sewall’s Point.

• Bird Island off Sewall’s Point is one of the area's major rookeries.

• The Kiplinger family owns the Bay Tree Lodge, built in 1909.

• The southern tip of Sewall’s Point is known as High Point.

• Willie Gary, multi-millionaire lawyer, has a waterfront mansion in Sewall’s Point.

Hobe Sound - Hutchinson Island - Jensen Beach - Jupiter Island - Palm City - Port Salerno - Sewall's Point - Stuart