LIVING HISTORY
MAGAZIINE ON THE TREASSURE COASST
Edwin Binney,
crayon creator, was
a guardian angel
for Fort Pierce.
21
SEXTON FAMILY
We started out our rst
season as a magazine with
a feature on the great late
Waldo Sexton, creator of
Vero Beach’s most beautiful
buildings, many of which were
built out of material salvaged
from early 20th century Palm
Beach mansions. These include
the Ocean Grill, Patio and
Szechuan Palace restaurants,
McKee Botanical Garden and
the Driftwood Inn.
The story of Sexton, who
was patriarch of a large,
creative and successful family,
resulted in subsequent stories on the Waldo Sexton home
lovingly cared for by his grandson, Mark Tripson, and his wife,
Hildie. Our Homes of the Treasure Coast section also featured the
home of Sharon and Sean Sexton, another Sexton grandson.
Later we proled Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Co., started by
Marygrace Sexton and her husband, Bobby, a grandson of Waldo
Sexton. And two years ago, to help readers understand the
various Sexton connections, we explored the many branches of
the family tree.
Family patriarch Ralph Sexton, who shared memories of his
father with us in the 2007 article, died in 2014 at the age of 86.
BINNEY/PUTNAM/CHAPMAN FAMILIES
Crayola inventor Edwin Binney’s
stop in Fort Pierce in 1911 on a shing
trip began a new chapter in what
would become one of the Treasure
Coast’s most colorful families. Binney,
who would soon become a guardian
angel for the region, dredged the
Fort Pierce Inlet and created the Port
of Fort Pierce in the 1920s. He later
saved the St. Lucie County Bank from
closing by making large deposits in it.
We shared much of the family’s history
in our rst issue, in which we also told
of the aviator Amelia Earhart’s secret
ight to Fort Pierce.
Earhart entered the Binney family
picture when she married publisher
George Putnam, the ex-husband of
Binney’s daughter, Dorothy, who
followed her father to Fort Pierce
and built the Immokolee estate. To
avoid publicity, Earhart made a secret
ight to Fort Pierce in the 1930s
shortly after the birth of Putnam’s
granddaughter, Binney.
Our rst issue in 2006 featured
much of the family history, including the story of
Earhart’s secret ight, and showcased Immokolee,
which today is still lovingly cared for by Dorothy
Putnam’s granddaughter, Sally Chapman and her
husband, Jack. “They’re going to have to carry us
out of here feet rst,’’ Sally says.
HOW WE BECAME THE TREASURE COAST
Gold and silver
treasure that spilled
on our shores when
11 ships sank in 1715
during a hurricane
gave our region the
name the Treasure
Coast. Because of the
public’s fascination
with the story,
we’ve featured
various installments
beginning in 2007
and leading to the
300th anniversary
of the disaster in the
summer of 1715.
The story continues to fascinate with treasure salvors still
recovering nds o St. Lucie, Martin and Indian River counties. >>
CELEBRATING
Waldo Sexton, creator of some of
Vero Beach’s most iconic landmarks,
was also the patriarch of a large and
creative family that has been proled
in Indian River over the years.
CELEBRATING OUR
ANNIVERSARY
Sean Sexton, one of Waldo’s grandsons, and wife, Sharon, use the great room
of their home to display their art.
Amelia Earhardt once made
a secret ight to Fort Pierce.
Gold coins found in Spanish shipwrecks gave
the region its Treasure Coast moniker.
AWARD-WINNING
MAGAZINE
10TH YEARS
CELEBRATING A DECADE AS THE NO. 1 MAGAZINE
ON THE TREASURE COAST