Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian is a city in Indian River County, Florida, United States at the confluence of the St. Sebastian River and the Indian River. It is two miles away from the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest city in Indian River County and the biggest population center between Palm Bay and Fort Pierce. The city's economy is heavily reliant on tourism. It has numerous resorts in the local area, such as Disney's Vero Beach Resort. It is very close to many natural and scenic areas like the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, Sebastian Inlet State Park, and St. Sebastian River Preserve State Park.

In 2020, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 25,054.

Sebastian is a principal city of the Sebastian−Vero Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Indian River County.

History


In 1715, several Spanish ships loaded with treasure (known as the 1715 Treasure Fleet) encountered a storm off the shores of the Treasure Coast and were lost. It is estimated that only a portion of the sunken treasure has been found. The value placed on the treasure lost from the 1715 fleet has been estimated at more than US$500 million.

The town of Sebastian was a fishing village as early as the 1870s. In the early 1880s David Peter Gibson and Thomas New settled in the area. New filed to start a post office under the name New Haven. However, New got into legal trouble for misuse of his position as postmaster and was removed. Officially, Sebastian was founded in 1882 and named St. Sebastian, after Saint Sebastian. Later, “St.” was removed from the name of the town, but not from the river. Sebastian was incorporated as a city in 1923.

Nearby Pelican Island was declared the first National Wildlife Refuge in the United States in 1903.

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total land area of 13.66 sqmi.

Demographics
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,054 people, 10,684 households, and 6,691 families residing in the city.

In 2020, 14.4% of the population were people under the age of 18, and 35.5% were people over the age of 65. The average household size was 2.39. 51.6% of the population were female and 48.4% male.

In 2020, the median household income for the city was $54,986 in 2020, and the per capita income was $32,400. About 10.6% of the population were below the poverty line.

As of the 2010 United States census, there were 21,929 people, 9,114 households, and 6,319 families residing in the city.

Government
The Government of the City of Sebastian follows a council-manager government model with a five-member city council as the elected governing body and a city manager as the chief operating officer. Members of the city council serve two-year terms with staggered elections.

Fire Rescue
Indian River County Fire-Rescue provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the citizens of Sebastian. There are two fire stations assigned to the city:


 * Station 8: Engine 8, Rescue 8, Battalion 1.
 * Station 9: Quint 9, Rescue 9.

Police Department
The Sebastian Police Department provides police protection for the city. It operates from the municipal complex, and is staffed by approximately 43 sworn officers.

Education
The School District of Indian River County operates public schools.

There are three elementary schools (Sebastian Elementary, Pelican Island Elementary and Treasure Coast Elementary, ) two middle schools (Sebastian River Middle School and Sebastian Charter Junior High) and one high school (Sebastian River High School) in the city.

Located to the west of the city center on County Road 512, the North County Public Library is part of the Indian River County Library System.

Transportation
The GoLine Bus system operates buses out of the North County Transit Hub at 90th Avenue & Sebastian Blvd to various parts of Indian River County.

Notable people

 * Bryan Augenstein, pitcher in Major League Baseball in 2009 and 2011; born in Sebastian
 * Jim Gary, American sculptor, was born in Sebastian
 * Arlo Guthrie, American folk singer-songwriter
 * Paul Kroegel, American conservationist