What to See in Stuart - Top Sights and Attractions

Museum. The House of Refuge at Gilbert's Bar, also known as Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge, the House of Refuge Museum, or simply the House of Refuge, is a historic building located at 301 S.E. MacArthur Boulevard, on Hutchinson Island east of Stuart, Florida. It is the oldest surviving building in Martin County.

This House of Refuge is the last remaining of the original dozen shipwreck life-saving stations on Florida's Atlantic Coast operated by the United States Life-Saving Service, one of the predecessor agencies to the United States Coast Guard. Built in 1876 to help stranded sailors, its long colorful history spans nearly 70 years. Today it is owned by the Martin County government and leased to the Martin County Historical Society, which operates it as a museum exhibiting life-saving equipment used over the years and showcasing the keeper's quarters, c. 1904. On May 3, 1974, the House of Refuge was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.^[1]

Museum in Stuart, Florida. The Stuart Heritage Museum, at 161 Southwest Flagler Avenue in Stuart, Florida, is a local history museum located in an historic 2-story frame building built in 1901 by George W. Parks. Parks used the first floor of the building for his Geo. W. Parks Grocery and General Merchandise Store and second floor for his home. In 1913, the building became the Stuart Mercantile Company and in the 1960s after a series of uses, it became the Stuart Feed Store. In 1989, the Stuart Feed Store was listed in A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture.

The museum houses over 10,000 artifacts from the 1880s to the 1950s.

In April 2010, the historic 1920s Talley and Evans Crary Sr. House at 311 Cardinal Way was cut in half and moved to the vacant lot just west of the Feed Store, where it awaits restoration and use by Stuart Heritage Museum.^[2]

Segmental bridge in Stuart, Florida. The Roosevelt Bridge is a major highway segmental bridge across the St. Lucie River in Stuart, Florida. Carrying U.S. Route 1, it was built to supersede the old Roosevelt Bridge, which had twin parallel drawbridges, one for northbound traffic and the other for southbound. The new bridge, completed in 1996, is raised and much longer than the older twin drawbridges. The southbound span of the old bridge is still functional for road and boat traffic and now carries two-way road traffic for what is now known as Dixie Highway, County Road 707. The new high-level Roosevelt Bridge is approximately one mile long and is made of two three-lane sections running parallel to each other. The northbound bridge was completed first, and housed two lanes of both north and south-bound traffic until the second bridge was finished. Because of high traffic volume and visibility, the Roosevelt Bridge is a frequent location for many protests and political campaigning in the area.^[5]

Botanical garden in Martin County, Florida. Tropical Ranch Botanical Garden is a small botanical garden, located at 1905 SW Ranch Trail, in Stuart, Florida. It is the only botanical garden in Martin County, and is open to the public free of charge. The gardens are located on the property of Diane Rexroad and Jim Haines, the founders and current owners and operators of the Garden. They first opened their gardens to the public in May 2006, out of a desire to educate people in home landscaping and horticulture, in accordance with the University of Florida's Florida Friendly Landscaping Program. In the management of the Garden, Rexroad and Haines use environmentally friendly practices such as proper fertilizing and mulching, attracting wildlife, controlling yard pests with integrated pest management strategies, water conservation, and the reduction stormwater runoff. They also promote the use of these garden management practices in home landscapes.

Rare and unusual plants are displayed throughout Tropical Ranch Botanical Garden in nine themed garden areas, each with distinctive plant specimens and landscaping style.

Tropical Ranch Botanical Gardens is maintained by the owners and a staff of volunteers.^[6]