Birth of the Sunrise City

Fort Pierce’s statement of incorporation was agreed to shortly after 3 p.m. on Feb. 2, 1901.

Incorporation in 1901 enabled Fort Pierce to forge its own future

BY GREGORY ENNS

Dan Carlton was elected city marshal the same day the Fort Pierce electorate decided to incorporate in 1901, an indication that better law enforcement was one of the driving reasons for creating the city. FLORIDA MEMORY PROJECT

It all began with a simple notice posted on Dec. 29, 1901, at Davis Hall, the community’s main gathering place. The message was clear: all registered voters were asked to return to that same spot on Feb. 2, 1901.

And the reason was a big one. The community — known by a revolving list of names over the previous half century — was ready to form a municipal government of its own.

So, when 53 of the area’s 66 qualified electors showed up at Davis Hall at 3 p.m. on that first Saturday in February, they got straight to business. They voted to incorporate, and they agreed on a name for their new municipality: Fort Pierce.

They also handled the other essentials of becoming a town. Voters approved resolutions defining the town’s boundaries and called for an official seal, “the size of a silver dollar,” bearing the words: Town of Fort Pierce, Incorporated Feb. 2, 1901. That same afternoon, they elected their first officers. Lumberman and pineapple grower A.C. Dittmar — the only name put forward — became mayor. Chosen as aldermen were hotelier F.M. Tyler, cattleman L.L. Carlton, fisherman W.B. Cross, farmer A.Y.W. Hogg and general store owner P.P. Cobb.