Indian River

Formed May 30, 1925 (64^th county)

Indian River County (159,789), Vero Beach (16,364), Sebastian (25,039)

The semi-circle columned front of the 1994 courthouse is its only unique feature.  There was an earlier courthouse in Vero Beach in 1937.  The current Modern style concrete facility is located three blocks west of United States Highway 1 on 16^th Avenue between 21^st and 22^nd streets.  James A. Cummings is the courthouse architect.  A County Administration Center was built in 2006.  The county is named for the local river and lagoon.  Settler Vero Gifford is the namesake of the county seat.  Indian River County was established on May 30, 1925 from Brevard and St. Lucie counties as the 64^th county.  Vero Beach has been the only county seat. 

Indian River County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty Circuit Court Judges serve Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee, and Saint Lucie counties and Two County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Indian River County (judicial.) The county is located in southeast Florida on the Atlantic Ocean.  Orlando, Florida is northwest and Port St. Lucie, Florida is south of the county.  The center of the county is 12.2 miles Northwest of Vero Beach nearer West Vero Corridor.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Brevard County and the Atlantic Ocean and St. Lucie, Okeechobee, and Osceola counties. 

The area of the county is 503 square miles.  It is 59 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 31 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 317.7 persons per square mile making it 24 out of 67 in the state.  Indian River County has 31.9% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 95 enters from Brevard County to the north and exits into St. Lucie County to the south.  United States Highway 1 parallels Interstate Highway 95 from Brevard County to St. Lucie County.  The overall county shape is a rectangle with the southwest corner missing and a chimney on the northeast corner.  Vero Beach is in the southeast quarter of the county on the Atlantic Ocean.  Sebastian is in the northeast part of the county.  Vero Beach is the county seat and Sebastian is the largest city.  Vero Beach is 10.2% of the county population while Sebastian is 15.7% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced VER-OE BEECH.  This county is in the Sebastian-Vero Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area.