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The City of Fort Pierce (FP), which is the county seat of St. Lucie County (SLC) was incorporated in Florida in 1901. It is one of the oldest cities in eastern Florida. The orderly urban development of FP began with a plat prepared for the area that depicts the separation of communities. This is a major factor in the disparate economic conditions that began during this time period and is still prevalent to this day. SLC covers an area of 572 square miles.  It lies north of Martin County, south of Indian River County, and east of Okeechobee County. Census data from 1880 shows SE St. Lucie County was lightly populated with only 64 African Americans living with the Seminole Indians. By comparison, there were 1,619 white settlers. Each lived and worked in their own tight-knit communities with each group having a distinct culture and lifestyle. The African American settlers developed their own business district and community. This subdivision was platted as Lincoln Park (LP), which is where the SMEC was born.

    

The conception of the SMEC was the innovation of the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church congregation. The church members and leadership was comprised of teachers, doctors, lawyers, business owners, migrant contractors, and laborers, railroad workers, and property owners. It began in the small backroom Fellowship Hall of the first St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church located on North 18th Street and Avenue G. Originally in 1981 it started as a volunteer parent support group under the direction of its brand new pastor, Reverend Doctor Jonathan Ingram, Jr. Reverend Ingram observed the operations of the support group and needs of the community and soon thereafter he had a vision that it was time the church move to its rightful place of leadership in dealing with the disparities of the community. Through this vision, the St. Mark congregation expanded its services to include special programs for drug abusers and juvenile delinquents, a prevalent concern during the late ’80s and early ’90s in St. Lucie County. Reverend Ingram’s continued vision was to see the church and organization move into new headquarters that would provide the needed rooms for educational and new social programs.  The congregation then acquired the First Baptist Church at 921 Orange Avenue, one half-mile from Historic Downtown Fort Pierce. The grounds hold a three-story architectural-historical structure with a church sanctuary and baptismal pool, a middle building comprised of 16 classrooms, another three-story building with approximately 25 additional rooms that can be used for office suites or classrooms and a large kitchen and a cafeteria with the capability of holding 275 participants.

 

After moving into the building, the work of the organization began in earnest. On April 8, 1994, the SMEC received its State of Florida Incorporation as a non-profit entity and on December 31st, 1994 the organization received its 501 © 3 tax-exempt status, which it holds to this day. After relocating to Orange Avenue, the center began its first operation as a daycare center for two years servicing over 100 students.  Due to high operating costs, low tuition fees, and ever-changing state requirements, the daycare center was forced to close. From here the center held quarterly events still fulfilling the mission of serving the public.  The events were held are health fairs, after school functions, back-to-school junctures, business and wellness seminars, outdoor sports, and fun activities, plays, festivals, and bazaars. The goal was to meld a diverse group of people with varied experiences for achievements of community success and pride while developing a site for a Community Resource Center.