Jupiter Lighthouse: a brief history and a shipwreck

Jupiter Lighthouse and Museum
Jupiter (Palm Beach County), Florida

Loxahatchee River Historical Society

www.jupiterlighthouse.org

Call for tour information (561) 747-8380

By Jane Feehan

The Jupiter Lighthouse, one of 29 in Florida, overlooks the beautiful aqua waters of the Jupiter Inlet. Preserved and operated by the Loxahatchee River Historical Society, the Jupiter Lighthouse with its surrounding 126 acres has been declared an “Outstanding Natural Area,” the second such designation for a lighthouse in the U.S. and the first east of the Mississippi River.

The site for the lighthouse was chosen in 1853. It was designed by Lieutenant George Gordon Meade (1815-1872) who worked for the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers. As major general, Meade defeated Gen. Robert E. Lee at the Civil War Battle of Gettysburg in 1863. 

The lighthouse, one of six lighthouse projects assigned to Meade, opened July 10, 1860. The structure reportedly cost $68,000 and today, after several upgrades, stands at 108 feet or 156 feet above sea level.

Operation of the lighthouse was suspended from 1861-1866 when Confederate sympathizers stole its 880 candle power lights (250-watt bulb). A wireless radio beacon was installed in 1905 to guide ships. Lots more information--a timeline and colorful facts about Jupiter Lighthouse--can be found at Jupiterlighthouse.org.

Wreck of the Mary Kingsland,
 Florida State Archives

One interesting story reported in the Cincinnati Daily Press in 1861 sheds light on Florida life and the lighthouse at the time. A private yacht, the Mary Kingsland from New York, was driven off course by a gale in March of 1861 and onto the beach, south of the Jupiter Lighthouse. Seven members of the Scott family, a "theatrical troupe," were stranded. Captain C.C. Scott and his brother walked 16 miles to the lighthouse for refuge and provisions.

According to the story, they were refused assistance.They returned to the beached yacht with a "wrecker," or scavenger from the area. It's not clear why the lighthouse keeper denied the Scott family assistance. Perhaps he was trying to drum up business for the "wrecker." Shipwreck scavenging served as a source of income in Florida at that time.

The news account reported the family, including a child, were "exposed to attacks by wild beasts and Indians. They remained near the wreck eating palmetto tops and wild cabbage until the Cahawba, on its way to Havana, rescued them." Their wait for help was just a few days. The yacht and personal property aboard, valued at $4,000, was deemed a total loss.

Over the years there have been a number of wrecks along the coast near Jupiter, thus the need for the lighthouse. Today, a museum on the property highlights history of the American Indians who once lived in the area, the Seminole Wars of the 1800s, Jupiter families, and World War II uses of the lighthouse.

Many visitors combine the lighthouse tour with a swim in the clear inlet – a great respite in hot summer months. Picnics permitted; grills are not. There’s plenty of seating and things to do if a climb to the top of the lighthouse is not on your agenda or not possible during the pandemic.

Stairs in the lighthouse

 

Copyright © 2021. All rights reserved. Jane Feehan

Sources: 

Cincinnati Daily Press, March 28, 1861
Palm Beach Post, Aug. 4, 1964
Miami Herald, June 12, 1966

More information about Florida lighthouses:
https://www.visitflorida.com/travel-ideas/articles/arts-history-6-family-friendly-florida-lighthouses/

Tags: Florida history, lighthouses, Jupiter history, Palm Beach County history

Deadliest Florida maritime incident of WWII off Jupiter

Gulfland burning off Jupiter 1943
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory

 

By Jane Feehan

From 1942 to 1943, German U-boats sank more than 600 merchant ships off the U.S. East Coast. According to writer and Florida-during-World War II historian Eliot Kleinberg, 16 ships were sunk during the war off Florida between Cocoa Beach and Boca Raton.

The Florida maritime incident during the war that claimed the most lives, however, did not involve a U-boat.

Eighty-eight of 116 crewmen perished when two tankers collided off Jupiter Inlet October 20, 1943. The ships were running in opposite directions off Jupiter’s coastal bulge with lights out under war conditions. The Gulf Belle, emptied of cargo, and the Gulfland, heavy with a shipment of high octane fuel, ran into each other without warning; collision was followed by a fiery explosion seen from land.

Gulfland towed to Hobe Sound and sank
Florida State Archives/Florida Memory 

The Coast Guard Temporary Reserve, with its flotilla of cabin cruisers and fishing boats, responded to the emergency and saved 28 from both ships. A small dog was rescued from an engine room of one of tankers.  The Gulf Belle was towed into port where bodies of the crew were removed. The Gulfland burned for weeks in Hobe Sound and then sank.

____________ 

Sources:

Palm Beach Post, Oct. 24, 1943

Palm Beach Post, Apr. 23, 1944.

Tags: Maritime incident, Florida in WWII, Jupiter maritime incident, Jupiter history

Jupiter, the Florida town: How it got its name

By Jane Feehan

Jupiter, Florida was incorporated as a town in 1925. But long before that, the inlet and its surrounds were known by that name.

 
In the 18^th century, an Englishman interpreting a map drawn up by the Spanish during their first rule over Florida (1513-1763) read the name of a local Indian tribe who lived at the mouth of the Loxahatchee River. The Spanish called them Jove but they  were a bit off.

The name of nearby Hobe Sound is thought to be derived from how those Loxahatchee River Indian inhabitants referred to 

themselves.  The Spanish mistakenly referred to them as Jove.

Throw in some Latin, language of the educated those days, and the meaning of Jove is Jupiter, the god of thunder and sky and king of all gods in Roman mythology. 

Nearby Juno (about seven miles south) sprang up in the late 1800s (incorporated in 1953); its founders adopted the mythological name of Jupiter’s consort, Juno, for their town.

Who knew. A bit of Roman culture found its way into Florida history.

Sources: Town of Jupiter, Town of Juno Beach, Wikipedia

http://www.jupiter.fl.us

http://www.juno-beach.fl.us

http://www.wikipedia.org

Tags: How Jupiter got its name, how Jupiter got its name, Jupiter history,Juno Beach history