Treasure Coast - History

History

The area has long been inhabited, but like other of Florida's vernacular regions, a popular identity for the area did not emerge until the area saw its initial population boom in the 20th century. It is one of several "Coast" regions in Florida, such as the Gold Coast and the First Coast. The term was created by John J. Schumann Jr. and Harry J. Schultz of the Vero Beach newspaper the Press Journal, shortly after salvagers began recovering Spanish treasure off the coast in 1961. The discovery of treasure from the 1715 Treasure Fleet, lost in a hurricane near the Sebastian Inlet, was of major local importance and brought international attention to the area. Press Journal publisher Shumann and editor Schultz noted that there was no name for their area, which was between the well known Gold Coast (Palm Beach to Miami to the south) and the Space Coast (Brevard County to the north). They started referring to their region as the "Treasure Coast" in the newspaper, and this use spread to the community.

Though some local businesses had used the term as early as 1966, it spread fairly slowly. The Miami Herald's 1972 Florida Almanac refers to the area from Miami to Vero Beach as the "Tropical Coast". A 1982 survey of Florida's vernacular regions by geographers Ary J. Lamme and Raymond K. Oldakowski did not include the "Treasure Coast". The survey shows that the entire area from Dade County (now Miami-Dade) north to Martin County was considered the "Gold Coast" at that time. However, a 2007 survey by the same authors found that by then the "Gold Coast" was restricted primarily to Miami-Dade and Broward Counties, while the "Treasure Coast" region had emerged comprising the area from Palm Beach County and northward. Lamme and Oldakowski note that by that time, "Gold Coast" had acquired some unflattering connotations. They suggest the communities to the north may have seen the need to distinguish themselves from the Gold Coast and Miami to promote themselves as a destination for American tourists and residents, contributing to the popularity of the Treasure Coast as a vernacular region.