Martin

Formed May 30, 1925 (65^th county)

Martin County (158,435), Stuart (17,434)

Modern style concrete buildings connected for convenience is this county’s courthouse.  It was built in 1988 and remodeled in 1996 on Ocean Boulevard at Detroit Avenue.  United States Highway 1 passes seven blocks west of the site.  PDR Architects, Inc., are the building designers.  The complex sits in a park environment.  There was a 1925 version of the courthouse also in Stuart, the only county seat.  Martin County was formed on May 30, 1925 from parts of St. Lucie and Palm Beach counties as the 65^th county.  Governor John W. Martin is the source of the county name.  Railroad Agent Samuel C. Stuart provided the name for the county seat. 

Martin County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty Circuit Court Judges serve Martin, Indian River, Okeechobee, and Saint Lucie counties and Three County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Martin County (judicial.) Martin County is in the Atlantic Ocean in the southeast part of the state.  Miami, Florida is south and Orlando, Florida is northwest.  The center of the county is 26.9 miles Southwest of Stuart nearer Indiantown.  The county is surrounded clockwise by St. Lucie County and the Atlantic Ocean and Palm Beach, Hendry, Glades, and Okeechobee counties.  

The area of the county is 556 square miles.  It is 53 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 32 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 285.0 persons per square mile making it 26 out of 67 in the state.  Martin County has 17.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 95 goes north to south through the county, St. Lucie County to Palm Beach County.  United States Highway 1 parallels Interstate Highway 95 from St. Lucie County to Palm Beach County.  The county is shaped like a fat plow.  Stuart is located in the extreme northeast corner on the coast.  Stuart is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 11.0% of the county population.  This county is in the Port Saint Lucie Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Stuart