August Park was born in 1833 in Danzig, Germany, immigrated to the United States, traveled to New York, later moved to Fort Pierce, Florida, and settled in the Sebastian area in 1865 as its first permanent resident of European descent. He purchased 43 acres there and lived on the land for 30 years. Park married Polly Anna Gore of Washington, North Carolina, and they had seven children. Known for his generosity, he opened his family home to settlers arriving in Sebastian and let them stay until they found permanent homes. He also allowed others to use his land for burials, beginning with a father whose son had died. After Park's death in 1895, his family donated the burial ground to the town of Sebastian, creating Sebastian Municipal Cemetery. Over time, the burials came to extend far beyond Park's family and neighbors, and those interred there include veterans of the Civil War, Spanish American War, World War I, World War II, and Korean War, as well as Paul Kroegel, manager of the first national wildlife refuge and a key figure in establishing Pelican Island as the first federal bird reservation.