VANITY WORKS: HOW MARTIN COUNTY GOT ITS NAME
You probably didn't pick this up in your Florida history classes, but the state's 24th chief executive, Gov. James W. Martin, must have been an influential dude. He only served one term as governor after a three-term stint as mayor of Jacksonville, but he made the most of his time in office.
He was a progressive, something that wouldn't fly far in Florida politics today.
Martin built highways and financed public schools by direct state appropriation. He even furnished textbooks to all elementary school students. What he's most remembered for, however, is that there's a county named after him.
Martin County, the state's 64th county, was once part of Palm Beach County. The push for independence, however, was just too great for many residences who wanted to become their own country. Unfortunately, there was a problem -- Gov. Martin. Promoters of the push to separate were afraid that the governor would put the kibosh on their efforts. So they came up with a novel idea.
Appeal to the governor's vanity. Martin, like most politicians, apparently had one.
The local promoters decided to name the new county after the governor in hopes that the name would spare the idea from a gubernatorial veto. It worked, and in 1925 Martin County became a reality.
Sources: African AmericanSites in Florida by Kevin M. McCarthy and Florida Memory: State Library & Archives of Florida
By Doug Lyons
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