Civic Organizations & Volunteer Opportunities

This small town has a very active and close-knit community, and offers many opportunities for residents and visitors to get involved with community events, or volunteer with IRB civic organizations such as IRB Action 2000, the IRB Rotary organization, IRB Historical society, IRB Art Center, IRB Food Pantry, and the IRB Library.

Family-Friendly Community

 Indian Rocks Beach is a family-friendly town; offering numerous youth and adult activities which include art programs, a skate park, numerous playgrounds, a little league baseball field, tennis and basketball courts, summer camps, skimboard lessons on the beach, yoga on the beach, and private child-care and pre-school services. In addition, our small town has two local churches that are very active within the community, and provide many types of support to those in-need.

Pet-Friendly Community

Pets are a big part of the culture in IRB. Residents and visitors are regularly seen walking the streets in IRB with their four-legged friends, and many of them also enjoy regular visits to the City's leash-free dog park. Many of the vacation accommodations in IRB offer pet-friendly lodging options. There is also a dog beach at the Belleair Causeway Bridge Park, where pets and their owners can enjoy swimming and fishing together. Indian Rocks Beach Animal Hospital is located in the center of town and offers excellent care for pets in-need.

Indian Rocks Beach History

The Indian Rocks Beach Historical Society, which was founded in 1980, is the preservation arm of the Indian Rocks Beach Historical Museum.  The Museum which was originally located near City Hall and Kolb Park, was relocated and now resides at 203 4th Ave. next to Chic-A-See Park (across from the post office).

The Historical Museum is housed in the historic Carl & Caroline Moseley 1930's beach cottage. This quaint cottage features an extensive collection of early native Indian artifacts, old photographs, maps, shells, documents and historic memorabilia. This jewel of a museum chronicles the rich heritage of Indian Rocks Beach from its founding as one of the earliest beach communities, to the present day. The Museum is solely supported by an incredible group of volunteer members. These dedicated Historical Society Members strive to preserve our rich and interesting beach history, for the enjoyment of many generations to come.

Indian Rocks Beach is known as "the world's safest beach", and received its name based on the actions and beliefs of some of its earliest visitors to the island...

"As the legend goes, Indian Rocks Beach reputedly got its name when a native medicine man, having heard of a healing sulfur spring to the west, brought his ailing chief to bathe in and drink of the water. After the Chief's miraculous recovery, annual pilgrimages were made to the spring, believed to have been located in what is now Kolb Park across from the Indian Rocks Beach City Hall. Early settlers seeing the Indians on their way to the rock encircled spring would say, "The Indians are on their way to the rocks".

Around the latter part of the 1800's, a group from Cedar Key, among them L. W. Hamlin, explored the area and found a few settlers along the beach. The Hendricks family, according to a 1925 newspaper account, landed in the area in 1833 and homesteaded there. A settlement, Anona, has existed in the vicinity (on the mainland) since the mid-1800's. With the opening of a road from the waterway to the vicinity of Largo, the Indian Rocks area became a favorite spot for picnickers. Residents worshiped at the old Anona Church and children attended the Anona School.

Among the early landmarks were the Indian Rocks Sundry Store, the Indian Beach Hotel and a railroad spur crossing the bay. After a number of years of declining use, the rail spur was removed. The first Indian Rocks Bridge was built in 1916, and its location, in the Narrows, is indicated by a historical marker. The community grew and developed during its early days, but after World War II that growth started to accelerate rapidly.

Today, Indian Rocks Beach is a thriving community that has maintained most of its original character, and supports a lively mixture of recreational activities. From our Nature Preserve, to our parks, to our sandy shores, you'll find a smile on every face, and a warm Florida welcome with everyone you meet."