Indian River County (Spanish: Condado de Río Indio) is a county located in the southeastern and east-central portions of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 159,788.[2] Its seat is Vero Beach.[3] It is Florida's 7th richest county and in 2000 was the 87th richest county in the U.S. by per capita income.[4]
Indian River County comprises the Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The SMA was first defined as the Vero Beach, Florida SMA in 2003. It was renamed Sebastian-Vero Beach, Florida SMA in 2005, and Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, Florida SMA in 2023.[5][6] The SMA is included in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, Florida.
History
Prior to 1821 the area of Indian River County was part of the Spanish colony of East Florida. In 1822 this area became part of St. Johns County, and in 1824 it became part of Mosquito County (original name of Orange County).
The Second Seminole War was fought in 1835 and from 1838 to 1839. Fort Vinton was built for this purpose near the intersection of present-day Florida State Road 60 and 122nd Avenue.[7]
In 1844 the county's portion of Mosquito County became part of newly created St. Lucia County. In 1855 St. Lucia County was renamed Brevard County. In 1905 St. Lucie County was formed from the southern portion of Brevard County; in 1925 Indian River County was formed from the northern portion of St. Lucie County.[8] It was named for the Indian River, which runs through the eastern portion of the county.
South Florida Best Notary
