The Treasure Coast

This area is known as the “Treasure Coast” for the sunken Spanish Galleon Treasure fleet of 1715 blown by a storm onto nearby reefs spilling its treasure into the surf and sand along area beaches. Treasure hunters today walk the beaches and dive local waters in search of artifacts, gold, silver and jewels spilled from the Spanish ships.

St. Lucie County has several colleges and universities including:  the University of Florida (agriculture), Indian River State College, Florida Atlantic University, and Florida State University (medical school satellite campus). The County also supports several bio-tech research centers and industrial clusters   including:  the U.S. Department of Agriculture Fort Pierce campus, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Research Laboratory, the Smithsonian Institute Fort Pierce branch. St. Lucie County also has three major medical centers, a water port (Port of Fort Pierce) and the St. Lucie County International Airport (U.S. Port of Entry). A full time Customs and Border Patrol operation is located at the airport.