Vero Beach, Florida



Vero Beach is a city in Indian River County, Florida, in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2010 data, the city had a population of 15,220. It is the county seat of Indian River County.

Demographics
As of the census of 2010, there were 15,220 people, 7,505 households, and 3,946 families residing in the city. There were 10,258 housing units. The racial makeup of the city was 87.5% White, 4.8% African American, 0.30% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 3.7% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 10.7% of the population.

There were 7,505 households out of which 16.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.2% were married couples living together, 9.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.4% were non-families. 19.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older with 4.8% being 85 years and older. The average household size was 2.01 and the average family size was 2.65.

In the city the population was spread out with 14.1% under the age of 16, 84.1% over 18, 4.3% from 15 to 19, 4.9% from 20 to 24, 5.5% from 20 to 25 and 29.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 50.9 years.

For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. The population consists of 51.3% female and 48.7% male.

Rail
The Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) mainline bisects Vero Beach, with an active team track in town serving a lumber/building products customer. Also, just north of town, there are (at present) inactive spurs alongside the various grapefruit & orange packing houses, and active aggregate customers who ship out their product in the FEC's distinctive Ortner 100-ton aggregate hopper cars.

Industry
Vero Beach is home to general aviation manufacturer Piper Aircraft, which is the largest private employer in Indian River County and as of June 2012 employs approximately 730 people. Aside from Piper, the bulk of commercial activity in Vero Beach centers around tourism, the citrus industry and service activities.

Beaches
The beaches in Vero Beach are part of Florida's Treasure Coast. Vero's main public beach is known as South Beach, accessible at the eastern end of State Road 656. Another public beach is Humiston Park, in Vero's Central Beach Business District. Jaycee Park is adjacent to Conn Beach. Vero Beach also has other public access trails and walkways with beach access.

Water recreation in the Indian River Lagoon
The Indian River Lagoon, passing through Vero Beach, forms a significant portion of the Intracoastal Waterway, and is a hub for boating, fishing, water skiing, and other small-craft waterborne activities.

Resorts
Disney's Vero Beach Resort is located in Vero Beach.

Shopping
The main shopping mall is Indian River Mall.

National Register of Historic Places

 * Driftwood Inn
 * Hallstrom House
 * Old Indian River County Courthouse
 * Judge Henry F. Gregory House
 * Maher Building
 * McKee Jungle Gardens
 * Old Palmetto Hotel
 * Pueblo Arcade
 * Royal Park Arcade
 * Theodore Hausmann Estate
 * Old Vero Beach Community Building
 * Vero Beach Diesel Power Plant
 * Vero Beach Woman's Club
 * Vero Railroad Station
 * Vero Theatre

Historic events
1872 – Captain Allen W. Estes officially established the first land patent here between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon.

1893 – Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway began operation through the area.

1915 – Human bones discovered near Vero Beach

1919 – Vero Beach became chartered as an official town.

1925 –Indian River County is formed, and Vero Beach became the county seat.

1942 – The U.S. Navy selected 1500 acre surrounding the Vero Beach Municipal Airport as the site of a Naval Air Station, commissioned November 1942

1951 – Barber Bridge was built from mainland to barrier islands. It was later demolished and replaced in 1995 with the Merrill P. Barber Bridge

1957 – Piper Aircraft began research and development in Vero Beach

1961 – Piper Aircraft moves administrative and manufacturing operations after completing building additions.

1965 – A1A bridge over the Sebastian Inlet opens connecting barrier islands.

Notable people

 * Fred Barnes, journalist, editor of The Weekly Standard and Fox News host
 * Prince Fielder, professional baseball player
 * Mardy Fish, professional tennis player
 * Calvin Souther Fuller, inventor of the solar cell, died 1994
 * Carl Hiaasen, journalist, novelist, and author of children's books
 * Ivan Lendl, former professional tennis player
 * Debbie Mayfield, Florida state representative
 * F. James McDonald (1922–2010), former president and chief operating officer of General Motors.
 * Alison Mosshart, lead singer of The Kills and The Dead Weather
 * Jake Owen, country music singer-songwriter, graduate of Vero Beach High School, 1999
 * Peter George Peterson, co-founder, Blackstone Group
 * Albert Reed, model, 2007 Dancing with the Stars competitor, actor, graduate of Vero Beach High School, 2003
 * Priscilla Renea, singer-songwriter signed to Capitol Records,debut album entitled "Jukebox" released in 2009
 * Norman Sas, inventor of Electric football
 * Parvati Shallow, winner of Survivor: Micronesia, runner-up in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains

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


 * Vero Beach High School The first high school in Vero Beach. grades 9–12


 * Indian River Charter High School. Charter school, grades 9–12


 * Saint Edward's School. Independent College Preparatory in Episcopal School Tradition · grades pre-K-12


 * Alternative Center for Education. Public · grades 5–12


 * Anderson Academy. Private · grades 8–12


 * Masters Academy. Private · grades pre-K-12


 * Tabernacle Baptist Christian School. Private · grades K-12


 * Rosewood Magnet School. grades pre-K-5

Colleges

 * Indian River State College – Mueller Campus

Vero Man
Vero Beach was the site of a major archaeological discovery in 1915. Starting in 1913 vertebrate fossils were uncovered during the construction of a drainage canal from the Indian River between Vero Beach and Gifford. Samples of the fossils were sent by Isaac M. Weills and Frank Ayers to the state geologist of Florida, E. H. Sellards, who recognized the finds as Pleistocene animals. In 1915 fossilized human bones from at least five individuals were found in the banks of the canal. One skeleton, consisting of 44 bones, became known as "Vero Man". Over the next 30 years, the remains were shuffled back and forth between the Smithsonian Institution and the Florida State Museum of History in Tallahassee. Interest in Vero Man gradually waned, though more recently there was some renewed interest in finding the remains.

In 2009 scientists announced the discovery of a carving of a mammoth or mastodon on a piece of bone found north of Vero Beach (the general area in which Vero Man was found). The carving may be the oldest art found in the Americas. Scientists studying the carving noted similarities with Pleistocene art in Europe. Art historian Barbara Olins has compared the Vero mammoth carving to "Franco-Cantabrian" drawings and engravings of mammoths. She notes that the San of southern Africa developed a realistic style of depicting animals similar to the "Franco-Cantabrian" style, indicating that an independent development of such a style in North America is possible.