Jupiter Inlet Light
Encyclopedia
The Jupiter Inlet Light is located in Jupiter, Florida
, on the north side of the Jupiter Inlet. The site for the lighthouse was chosen in 1853. It is located between Cape Canaveral Light
and Hillsboro Inlet Light
. The lighthouse was designed by then Lieutenant George G. Meade
of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers. The Jupiter Inlet silted shut in 1854, forcing all building supplies to be shipped in light boats down the Indian River
. Work was interrupted from 1856 to 1858 by the Third Seminole War
. The lighthouse was completed in 1860 at a cost of more than $60,000.
The lighthouse was built on an Indian shell mound (midden
). The top of the 105 feet (32 m) tower is 146 feet (44.5 m) above sea level. The light can be seen 25 miles (40.2 km) at sea. The walls are 31 inches thick at the base and taper to 18 inches near the top. The tower was left unpainted for the first fifty years, but had grown so discolored that it was painted red around 1910.
During the Civil War
blockade runner
s brought supplies to the Confederacy
through the Jupiter Inlet, while the Union Navy
tried to stop them. Fearing that the lighthouse was an aide to the Union ships, a group of Confederate sympathizers disabled the light and removed the machinery from the lighthouse. A Union agent found the machinery where it had been hidden, and took it by boat to Key West, Florida
for safekeeping.
The lighthouse was put back into service after the war. The lighthouse was very isolated. Supplies were delivered once a year by boat. The year's supply of flour would go bad with weevils and worms. The lighthouse keepers had to fish and hunt to provide food. They would also buy venison
from the Seminole
s for ten cents a pound.
In 1928 the mineral oil lamps and the weights that turned the lamp were replaced with electrical equipment, and a diesel generator was installed for emergency backup. The Okeechobee Hurricane
the same year cut the electric power and damaged the diesel generator, so the keeper reinstalled the oil lamps, and his 16-year old son turned the lamp by hand through the storm. The top of the lighthouse swayed 17 inches during the hurricane.
Jupiter Inlet Light was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1973.
Historical Society operates the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum, which is open daily except Monday. The museum is located in Lighthouse Park, 500 Captain Armour's Way, Jupiter, Florida
. Visitors can climb the lighthouse tower.
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
, on the north side of the Jupiter Inlet. The site for the lighthouse was chosen in 1853. It is located between Cape Canaveral Light
Cape Canaveral Light
The Cape Canaveral Light is a historic lighthouse on the east coast of the U.S. state of Florida.-History:The current Cape Canaveral Light is not the first lighthouse on Cape Canaveral. A 60-foot tall brick structure was built on the Cape in 1848. The light consisted of 15 lamps each with a...
and Hillsboro Inlet Light
Hillsboro Inlet Light
Hillsboro Inlet Light is located on the north side of Hillsboro Inlet, midway between Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, in Hillsboro Beach, Florida...
. The lighthouse was designed by then Lieutenant George G. Meade
George Meade
George Gordon Meade was a career United States Army officer and civil engineer involved in coastal construction, including several lighthouses. He fought with distinction in the Second Seminole War and Mexican-American War. During the American Civil War he served as a Union general, rising from...
of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers. The Jupiter Inlet silted shut in 1854, forcing all building supplies to be shipped in light boats down the Indian River
Indian River (Florida)
The Indian River is a waterway in Florida, a part of the Indian River Lagoon system which forms the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. It extends southward from the Ponce de Leon inlet in New Smyrna Beach, Florida [Volusia County] southward and across the "Haulover Canal" and along the western shore...
. Work was interrupted from 1856 to 1858 by the Third Seminole War
Seminole Wars
The Seminole Wars, also known as the Florida Wars, were three conflicts in Florida between the Seminole — the collective name given to the amalgamation of various groups of native Americans and Black people who settled in Florida in the early 18th century — and the United States Army...
. The lighthouse was completed in 1860 at a cost of more than $60,000.
The lighthouse was built on an Indian shell mound (midden
Midden
A midden, is an old dump for domestic waste which may consist of animal bone, human excrement, botanical material, vermin, shells, sherds, lithics , and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human occupation...
). The top of the 105 feet (32 m) tower is 146 feet (44.5 m) above sea level. The light can be seen 25 miles (40.2 km) at sea. The walls are 31 inches thick at the base and taper to 18 inches near the top. The tower was left unpainted for the first fifty years, but had grown so discolored that it was painted red around 1910.
During the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
blockade runner
Blockade runner
A blockade runner is usually a lighter weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. Very often blockade running is done in order to transport cargo, for example to bring food or arms to a blockaded city...
s brought supplies to the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
through the Jupiter Inlet, while the Union Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
tried to stop them. Fearing that the lighthouse was an aide to the Union ships, a group of Confederate sympathizers disabled the light and removed the machinery from the lighthouse. A Union agent found the machinery where it had been hidden, and took it by boat to Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
for safekeeping.
The lighthouse was put back into service after the war. The lighthouse was very isolated. Supplies were delivered once a year by boat. The year's supply of flour would go bad with weevils and worms. The lighthouse keepers had to fish and hunt to provide food. They would also buy venison
Venison
Venison is the meat of a game animal, especially a deer but also other animals such as antelope, wild boar, etc.-Etymology:The word derives from the Latin vēnor...
from the Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
s for ten cents a pound.
In 1928 the mineral oil lamps and the weights that turned the lamp were replaced with electrical equipment, and a diesel generator was installed for emergency backup. The Okeechobee Hurricane
1928 Okeechobee Hurricane
The Okeechobee hurricane, or San Felipe Segundo hurricane, was a deadly hurricane that struck the Leeward Islands, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Florida in September of the 1928 Atlantic hurricane season...
the same year cut the electric power and damaged the diesel generator, so the keeper reinstalled the oil lamps, and his 16-year old son turned the lamp by hand through the storm. The top of the lighthouse swayed 17 inches during the hurricane.
Jupiter Inlet Light was placed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1973.
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum
The Loxahatchee RiverLoxahatchee River
The Loxahatchee River The Loxahatchee River The Loxahatchee River (Seminole for river of turtles is a 7.6 mile river near the southeast coast of Florida. It is a National Wild and Scenic River, one of only two in the state, and received its federal designation on May 17, 1985. The 1930s pioneer...
Historical Society operates the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum, which is open daily except Monday. The museum is located in Lighthouse Park, 500 Captain Armour's Way, Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter, Florida
Jupiter is a town located in Palm Beach County, Florida. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 39,328. The estimate population for 2009 is 50,606. As of 2006, the population had grown to 50,028, according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research....
. Visitors can climb the lighthouse tower.
External links
- Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum - official site
- Jupiter Light on BlooSeeBlooseeBlooSee is a social network and an ocean web mapping site where sailors, divers, surfers and other sea lovers geotag and share information and knowledge about the oceans. BlooSee is built in Python and uses the Google Maps API.BlooSee is owned by BlooSee, Inc...
- Jupiter Lighthouse Pictures
- National Register of Historic Places