Fort Pierce

History

The city was named after the Fort Pierce army post which was built nearby in 1838 during the Second Seminole War, and lasted until 1842. The first permanent settlement of the current city was during the 1860s. Lincoln Park each February hosts a celebration of the artwork of the African-American collective of landscape artists formed in the 1950s. Local artist A.E. Backus mentored many of the artists at his gallery. Several of the artists got their start at Lincoln Park Academy under the leadership of teacher Zanobia Jefferson. Art historian Jim Fitch in 1994 gave the group the name of 'the Highwaymen'. Over the course of 2001 to 2020, Gary Monroe wrote several books on the artwork of the 26 artists known as Highwaymen (including one woman). On October 9th, 2024, a deadly EF3 tornado would be spawned by Hurricane Milton and occurred within the Fort Pierce area with estimated windspeeds of 160 MPH causing 6 deaths.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.84 mi2 (77.29 km2), of which 23.79 square miles (61.62 km2) is land and 6.05 square miles (15.67 km2) of it (20%) is water. According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, The Fort Pierce Beach Shore Protection project includes of shore-line running from immediately south of the Fort Pierce Inlet southward to Surfside Park. The project is on a two-year renourishment cycle due to impacts to the beach from the federal navigation project at Fort Pierce Inlet. This two-year renourishment cycle is a much shorter renourishment interval than what is typical for other projects along the east coast of Florida. The initial construction of the project occurred in 1971, and the ninth nourishment was completed in May 2013. Completion of plans and specifications, advertisement and award for the 10th renourishment contract were completed in FY 2014. The project was scheduled to start mid-February 2015. Sand for the project is dredged from an approved offshore borrow area known as the Capron Shoal and then pumped via a pipeline onto the of beach south of the Fort Pierce Inlet. The sponsor, St. Lucie County, is preparing a General Reevaluation Report (GRR) for the project at their own expense that will evaluate extending Federal participation for an additional 50 years. Current Federal participation expires in 2020. all-time Feb low | source = }}

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• FORT PIERCE CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL
  High · FORT PIERCE · 3,091 students · 26.6:1 ratio
• ST. LUCIE WEST CENTENNIAL HIGH
  High · PORT ST LUCIE · 2,766 students · 24.9:1 ratio
• FORT PIERCE WESTWOOD ACADEMY THE W.E.S.T. PREP MAGNET
  High · FORT PIERCE · 2,010 students · 25.1:1 ratio
• PORT ST. LUCIE HIGH SCHOOL
  High · PORT ST LUCIE · 1,748 students · 23:1 ratio
• MANATEE ACADEMY K-8
  Elementary · PORT ST LUCIE · 1,664 students · 19.6:1 ratio
• ST. LUCIE WEST K-8 SCHOOL
  Elementary · PORT ST LUCIE · 1,601 students · 18:1 ratio
• LINCOLN PARK ACADEMY
  High · FORT PIERCE · 1,594 students · 22.5:1 ratio
• WEST GATE K-8 SCHOOL
  Elementary · PORT ST LUCIE · 1,522 students · 17.9:1 ratio