Fort Pierce

City and administrative headquarters of St Lucie County, east-central Florida, USA, where the Indian River flows into the Atlantic Ocean; population (2000) 37,500. It is a transport centre for the fruit and vegetable crops of the surrounding area, and fishing and tourism are significant industries. Indian River Community College (1960) is in the city.

The fort was built in 1838–42, and settlement began in the 1860s; it was incorporated in 1901. The St Lucie nuclear power plant (1976) is on Hutchinsons Island, 14 km/9 mi to the south-southeast.