Vero Beach Information

Vero Beach is known for its outstanding beaches. Part of Florida’s Treasure Coast, the beaches combine excellent sand quality with significant surf and tidal action. Vero’s main public beach is known as South Beach, accessible at the eastern end of Causeway Boulevard, State Road 656. It is a very large, guarded beach that is used for sports. There are two volleyball courts and plenty of space to play other sports. There are two pavilions with barbecues and a bathroom with vending machines. Another public beach is Humiston Park, in Vero’s Central Beach Business District. Humiston is a guarded beach that is suitable for families with small children. They have a big playground for the kids to play on and boardwalks for parents to roam. Jaycee Beach Park is guarded and has an adjacent boardwalk extending southward approximately 2/3 of a mile along Ocean Drive. It has about 15 pavilions all with barbecues. It has a small playground for kids and a long boardwalk that is perfect for exercise. Vero Beach also has numerous other public access trails and walkways permitting beach access. There are two beaches that are great for both surfing and skim boarding. They are Conn Beach, located just south of Jaycee Beach, and Mulligan’s that is located at the intersection of Ocean Drive and Barber Street.

Historic Events

1883 – Henry T. Gifford establishes the first homestead in Vero.

1891 – Henry T. Gifford applied to build a post office in the area. He began to call the area Vero.

1893 – Henry Flagler’s Florida’s East Coast Railroad began operation through Indian River County, allowing fishermen and small fruit and vegetable growers to ship their products to the north.

1903 – After Henry Flagler opened access to south Florida with his railway, the small community of Vero built their first railway station.

1911 – Herman Zeuch, born in Iowa in 1867, began to buy 48,000 acres of land for growing citrus after twelve trips to Florida and three years of planning. After this purchase, Zeuch began draining the land for development.

1912 – Zeuch formed the Indian River Farms Co. and hired a civil engineer from Iowa, William H. Kimball, to continue draining the land. Zeuch and his assistant, Col. R. D. Carter laid out a town site and built the town of Vero over the next few years. The two later unofficially changed the name to Vero Beach. They named the streets after Native Americans.

‘1915′- Vero man and Vero woman discovered. Bones dated back to 14,000 years ago. Which previously predated any research in North America which was previously thought to be 4-5,000 years

1919 – Vero became chartered as an official town and the first bridge was built that connected the mainland to the barrier islands. Also during this year, the first newspaper, the Vero Press, was birthed.

1925 – Until this time Vero was part of St. Lucie County. A local group of Vero Beach citizens desired to form a new county separate of St. Lucie County. In May, Indian River County was formed, and Vero Beach became the county seat. Vero’s name was officially changed to “Vero Beach” in 1925. In October of this year, The Dixie Highway was officially open to traffic. This new highway ran from the Canadian border at the northern tip of Michigan to Tallahassee and Jacksonville, and proceeded south along the east coast through Vero Beach to Miami. Gifford and Hughes built the section of this highway between Sebastian and Fort Pierce. In December, the “Vero Beach Journal” newspaper began publication.

1926 – A large Electrical Power Plant was built on the south side of 19th Pl., between 12th Ct. and the railroad tracks.

1927 – The Vero Beach Journal purchased the Vero Press, becoming the Vero Beach Press Journal, produced by the Schumann family.

1942 – During WWII, the U.S. Navy purchased 1,500 acres surrounding the Vero Beach Municipal Airport as the site for a Naval Air Station. The base was formally commissioned before year’s end.

1948 – Major league baseball came to Vero Beach when local businessman, Bud Holman, invited the Brooklyn Dodgers’ to take over an unused Naval air station following WWII. The Dodgers fancied the area, thus Dodgertown was born as their winter training grounds.

1957 – Piper Aircraft began research and development in Vero Beach which was built on part of the grounds of the former naval air station.

1961 – Piper moved its administrative and manufacturing operations here after completing building additions.

1967 – Piper expanded its facility to eleven acres and its work force to over 2,000 employees.

1965 – In February, the A1A bridge over the Sebastian Inlet was opened connecting the barrier islands.

1977 – A significant amount of snow fell in Vero Beach, actually blanketing the ground.

1996 – In November, the Indian River Mall opened.

2009 – The Brackett Library opens at Indian River State College’s Mueller Campus.

2009 – On June 22, an all-time record high of 102 degrees was set for Vero Beach.

Recent Years – There have been increasing cultural opportunities in Vero Beach. The Vero Beach Theatre Guild started in 1958. The Vero Beach Concert Association began presenting concerts in 1966. Riverside Theatre opened in 1974, and the Center for the Arts in 1986.