Cashel & Owen Murphy, innovator / collector
Cashel, the beautiful estate built in 1916-17 and originally owned by Martin Maloney, a prodigious entrepreneur and philanthropist, was purchased in 1952…
5 min read
Vignettes
Small stories. A bigger picture of Stuart.
Step back in time to learn about the unusual, the forgotten and some of the fascinating people, events and places from Martin County's history. These historical vignettes were written by Greg and Alice Luckhardt of Stuart and were published in the "Your News" section of Stuart News and TCPalm.com (discontinued).
240 stories
All stories
Cashel, Martin Maloney’s palatial estate
Martin Maloney, tycoon, capitalist and philanthropist, was one of the area’s more notable and wealthy winter residents of the early 1900s, having…
5 min read
A brief history of 4th Street school buildings
Although not the first schoolhouse in Stuart, a two-story, four-room concrete block building on 4th Street opened in May 1909 with capacity…
6 min read
Willis Ball Family: Stuart pioneers’ story of success, tempered by tragedy
Willis Adams Ball, born March 4, 1855 in New Hampshire, married Irene May Bullock in September 1875 in her hometown of Marshfield,…
6 min read
Martin County teens in the rock ‘n’ roll era
Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock,” Elvis’ “Hound Dog” and the popularity of rock ‘n’ roll with the younger generation in the…
6 min read
The Devastating Fire of 1916 in Stuart
It was Saturday, the first of January, 1916, a fine, mild and beautiful day in Stuart to be enjoyed, perhaps, by some…
5 min read
Martin County ‘metamorphosis:’ St. Lucie Hotel Annex
The Hotel St. Lucie (St. Lucie Hotel) was built for Henry C. Feroe by contractor Sam Matthews and ready for the winter…
5 min read
Wright’s Fish Farm a global enterprise
Aquariums and the raising of tropical fish provide a relaxing and interesting hobby for many, but for the Wright family of Stuart,…
5 min read
Historical Vignettes Martin County: Students enjoyed out-of-class activities
What Stuart Elementary School student of the ’40s or ’50s could forget the annual class train trip to Jensen Beach or to…
6 min read
Stuart’s bandstands have been popular since 1912
A ‘bandstand’ was not necessarily only for musical entertainment, but several structures that served that purpose were erected in Stuart through the…
4 min read
Hugh L. Willoughby, renaissance man
Most residents of Martin County will recognize Willoughby as the name of a street in Stuart, but few probably know much about…
4 min read
The devastating 1908 fire in Jensen
The devastating fire of May 3, 1908, in Jensen has been called the most destructive fire ever to have occurred in that…
5 min read
Have a Stuart story?
History lives in the people who remember it.
Have an old photograph, document or story about Stuart? The museum would love to hear from you.
