Stuart Welcome Arch
The Stuart Welcome Arch is an historic arch-shaped structure which straddles County Road 707 between 2369 and 2390 Northeast Dixie Highway in Jensen Beach, Florida. It was built in 1926 to mark what was then the town line between the town of Jensen to the north and the town of Stuart to the south. During the Great Depression, the town of Jensen went bankrupt and was dissolved, while the town of Stuart was forced to relinquish much of its territory north of the St. Lucie River. Today it is located entirely within the unincorporated area of Martin County. It has been restored several times over the years. On September 15, 2004, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
On the side welcoming southbound travelers to Stuart is the phrase, "Atlantic Gateway to the Gulf of Mexico", which commemorates the 1923 opening of the cross-state Stuart to Ft. Myers canal. Local residents would soon lament the degradation of clean waters and sport fishing in the St. Lucie River, after completion of the canal.
