Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian is a city in Indian River County, Florida, United States. In 2010, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 21,929.[8]

Sebastian, Florida
City
City hall
Motto(s): 
"Home Of Pelican Island"[1]
"Friendly People and Six Old Grouches"[2][3]
Location in Indian River County and the state of Florida
Sebastian, Florida
Location in the United States
Coordinates: 27°46′58″N 80°28′56″W
CountryUnited States
StateFlorida
CountyIndian River
Settled1870s
First settlersAndrew Canova, Ed Marr, Thomas New, and David Peter Gibson
Incorporated (municipality)Dec. 6, 1924
Incorporated (city)May 18, 1925
Government
 • TypeCouncil-manager government
Area
 • Total14.42 sq mi (37.36 km2)
 • Land13.59 sq mi (35.19 km2)
 • Water0.84 sq mi (2.17 km2)
Elevation
20 ft (6 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total21,929
 • Estimate 
(2019)[5]
26,118
 • Density1,823.21/sq mi (703.97/km2)
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code
32958, 32978
Area code(s)772
FIPS code12-64825[6]
GNIS feature ID0295607[7]
WebsiteCity of Sebastian Florida

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.[9] 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 [9] and named St. Sebastian, after Saint Sebastian.[10] 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

Climate
Climate data for Sebastian
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °F (°C) 73
(23)		 74
(23)		 77
(25)		 80
(27)		 85
(29)		 88
(31)		 89
(32)		 89
(32)		 87
(31)		 83
(28)		 77
(25)		 73
(23)		 81
(27)
Average low °F (°C) 54
(12)		 56
(13)		 59
(15)		 64
(18)		 68
(20)		 72
(22)		 74
(23)		 74
(23)		 74
(23)		 69
(21)		 62
(17)		 56
(13)		 65
(18)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 2.1
(53)		 2.2
(56)		 3.5
(89)		 3.5
(89)		 3.6
(91)		 5.1
(130)		 5.8
(150)		 6.0
(150)		 9.1
(230)		 7.1
(180)		 2.4
(61)		 1.6
(41)		 52
(1,320)
Source: Weatherbase

Demographics
Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1930386—
194042510.1%
1950376−11.5%
196069885.6%
197082518.2%
19802,831243.2%
199010,205260.5%
200016,18158.6%
201021,92935.5%
Est. 201926,118[5]19.1%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
Sebastian Historical Marker

At the 2010 census,[6][12] there were 21,921 people, 9,508 households and 6.462 families residing within the city in 10,815 housing units. The racial make-up of the city was 90.5% White, 5.3% African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.10% Asian, 1.2% from other races, and 1.60% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.00% of the population.

21.5% of households had children under the age of 16 living with them, 54.1% were married couples living together, 10.1% had a female householder with no husband present. 32.00% consisted of non-traditional families or unrelated individuals. 25.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 3.9% had someone living alone who was 85 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.75.

52.4% of the population were female and 47.6% male. 15.8% were under the age of 16, 6.0% from 15 to 19, 3.7% from 20 to 24, 3.8% from 25 to 29, and 26.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50.1 years.

The per capita income for the city was $24,959 in 2010.[13] About 4.8% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

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.

Education

The School District of Indian River County operates public schools.

There are three elementary schools (Sebastian Elementary,[14] Pelican Island Elementary[15] and Treasure Coast Elementary[16]), two middle schools (Sebastian River Middle School [17] 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 the #9, #10, #11, and #12 buses out of the North County Transit Hub at 90th Avenue & Sebastian Blvd to various parts of Indian River County.[18]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "City of Sebastian Florida". City of Sebastian Florida. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  2. Russ Lemmon: Origin of Sebastian's 'Six Old Grouches' remains a mystery
  3. "Who are Sebastian's "six old grouches"?", Tampa Bay Times
  4. "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". Retrieved Jul 7, 2017.
  5. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  6. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  7. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  9. http://www.citytowninfo.com/places/florida/sebastian
  10. "Profile for Sebastian, Florida, FL". ePodunk. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
  11. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  12. "Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010". US Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 21 May 2019. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  13. http://www.bestplaces.net/city/florida/sebastian#
  17. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-12-27. Retrieved 2012-01-03.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. http://www.golineirt.com/GoLineGuide.pdf
  19. "Bryan Augenstein". MLB.com. Retrieved September 19, 2012.
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