The Jupiter Inlet Light is located in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 US Census, the town had a population of 61,047. It is 84 miles north of Miami and 15 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach. ...

, on the north side of the

Jupiter Inlet The Jupiter Inlet is a natural opening through the barrier islands of Martin County, Florida, Martin and Palm Beach County, Florida, Palm Beach counties in Jupiter, Florida, Jupiter, Florida, that connects the south end of the Indian River (Flori ...

. The site for the lighthouse was chosen in 1853. It is located between

Cape Canaveral Light The Cape Canaveral Light is a historic lighthouse on the east coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The light was established in 1848 to warn ships of the dangerous shoals that lie off its coast. It is located inside the Cape Canaveral Space Force ...

and Hillsboro Inlet Light. The lighthouse was designed by then Lieutenant George G. Meade of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Meade's design was subsequently modified by Lieutenant William Raynolds. 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 Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were a series of three military conflicts between the United States and the Seminoles that took place in Florida between about 1816 and 1858. The Seminoles are a Native American nation which co ...

. The lighthouse was completed under the supervision of Captain Edward A. Yorke in 1860 at a cost of more than $60,000. The lighthouse was built on a hill once thought to be an Indian shell mound or

midden A midden is an old dump for domestic waste. It may consist of animal bones, human excrement, botanical material, mollusc shells, potsherds, lithics (especially debitage), and other artifacts and ecofacts associated with past human oc ...

(and sometimes falsely rumored to be a

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

), but which is now determined to be a natural parabolic

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

. The top of the tower is above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. The light can be seen at sea. The lighthouse structure is brick with double

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

walls. The outer wall is conical, tapering from (eight bricks thick) at ground level to (three bricks thick) at base of lantern. The inner wall is cylindrical and two bricks thick throughout. Circumference at base is about and at the top about . The lighthouse was painted red in 1910 to cover discoloration caused by humidity.

Hurricane Jeanne Hurricane Jeanne was the deadliest tropical cyclone in the Atlantic basin since Mitch in 1998, and the deadliest tropical cyclone worldwide in 2004. It was the tenth named storm, the seventh hurricane, and the fifth major hurricane of the se ...

in 2004 sandblasted the paint from the upper portion of the tower, and the tower was repainted using a

potassium silicate Potassium silicate is the name for a family of inorganic compounds. The most common potassium silicate has the formula K2SiO3, samples of which contain varying amounts of water. These are white solids or colorless solutions.Gerard Lagaly, Werner ...

mineral coating.

History

The point of land which sits at the junction of the Indian River and

for thousands of years had been a meeting place for ancient Indian tribes. This strategic site did not go unnoticed by

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

surveyors who in 1849 recommended the Jupiter Inlet area as a suitable place for military defenses. President

Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce (November 23, 1804October 8, 1869) was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democratic Party (United States), Democrat who believed that the Abolitionism in the United States, abolitio ...

signed the order to set aside a 61½-acre site on the Fort Jupiter Reservation for a lighthouse in 1854."2013 JILM History and Description" downloaded from the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum official website on September 20, 2013 The lighthouse was initially designed by Lieutenant

George Gordon Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was an American military officer who served in the United States Army and the Union army as Major General in command of the Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War from ...

. Later, Lt. William Raynolds, who succeeded Meade as head of the 4th and 7th Lighthouse Districts, improved the strength of the lighthouse with a double wall design. The lighthouse and oil house construction was accomplished by Captain Edward Yorke, who arrived December 31, 1859 and completed the tower in May 1860. It was lit July 10, 1860. A

Weather Bureau The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...

station and

signal station A signal station is a form of Navigational aid, Aids to Navigation that is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization, IHO simply as "A signal station is a place on shore from which signals are made to ships at sea". While this broad de ...

were established on the lighthouse grounds in 1889. Passing ships were signaled during the day by

semaphore Semaphore (; ) is the use of an apparatus to create a visual signal transmitted over distance. A semaphore can be performed with devices including: fire, lights, flags, sunlight, and moving arms. Semaphores can be used for telegraphy when arra ...

(flags) and at night by

flares A flare, also sometimes called a fusée, fusee, or bengala, bengalo in several European countries, is a type of pyrotechnic that produces a bright light or intense heat without an explosion. Flares are used for distress signaling, illuminatio ...

. In 1890 the Naval wireless telegraph station was established on the Reservation. It was not until 1925 that it was discovered that a mistake had been made on the original survey; the Lighthouse Reservation actually covered 113.22 acres. In 1930 the acreage was increased to 121.95 and held the tower, a keeper's house, a radio beacon, power house and several outbuildings. In 1917 the lighthouse was transfer from the Department of Commerce to the Navy for the duration of the first world war. The

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

acquired 8.4 acres of the Reservation from the US Government and by 1936 the Navy was operating a Radio Compass Station at Jupiter as an aid to navigation. The station broadcast weather information and monitored distress signals as well as naval ship-to-shore and aircraft frequencies. On July 1, 1939 all US lighthouses became the responsibility of the U.S. Coast Guard. In the same year, the US Navy established an Intelligence Listening Post at the Naval Radio Station and constructed the barracks building for naval personnel and their families. By July 1940, the Navy's Radio Detection Finding Station, known as "Station J", came online. This secret installation was designed to intercept

German U-boat U-boats are naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the First and Second World Wars. The term is an anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the German term refers to any submarine. Austro-Hungarian Nav ...

radio messages and warn Allied ships and help US forces attack enemy vessels. Station J was able to pinpoint the names and locations of the submarines. In May 1943, 30 German submarines were destroyed, and in June another 37. Most had been located by the men of Station J.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum

On January 11, 1972, 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 s ...

Historical Society (LRHS) was founded to preserve the area's history and it opened the Oil House Museum in June 1973. Public tours were conducted periodically by permission of the U.S. Coast Guard. On November 15, of the same year, the Lighthouse was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. By 1988, the Society had opened the Florida History Center and Museum in Burt Reynolds Park just across the inlet. The LRHS entered into an agreement with the Coast Guard to maintain and insure the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and to conduct regular public tours to the top of the lighthouse for the first time in 1994. The LRHS operated a small visitor center in the east end of the last remaining building of Station J, once used as living quarters for the military. The LRHS, with a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation and in cooperation with the Town of Jupiter and the U.S. Coast Guard, started a major restoration project in 1999 to repair weather damage to the tower. It was completed in April 2000. In 2006, in an agreement between the LRHS,

Palm Beach County Palm Beach County is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's third-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and Broward County and the 24th-most populous in the United States, wi ...

, and Town of Jupiter, the old

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

building in Lighthouse Park was renovated to become the new home of the Loxahatchee River Historical Society. On December 7, 2006, the history museum and society headquarters moved from

Burt Reynolds Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...

Park to Lighthouse Park to become the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum. The LRHS also entered into a 30-year lease agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard to maintain and operate a larger portion of the land between the tower and the western fence line of the US Coast Guard property in order to set up outdoor history exhibits. Operations for the lighthouse and history museum are now in one location. The Loxahatchee River Historical Society today operates the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum. The museum is located in Lighthouse Park, 500 Captain Armour's Way,

. Check the official website for current hours of operation. Visitors can climb the lighthouse tower and visit the History Museum by registering for admission through the

gift shop A gift shop or souvenir shop is a store primarily selling souvenirs, memorabilia, and other items relating to a particular topic or theme. The items sold often include coffee mugs, stuffed animals, toys, t-shirts, postcards, handmade collection ...

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area

The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area (JILONA) Act was introduced into the Senate by Senator

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician, attorney, and former astronaut who served from 2001 to 2019 as a United States Senate, United States senator from Florida and from 2021 to 2025 as the Administrator ...

and co-sponsored by Senator

Mel Martinez Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

. It was introduced into the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

by Congressman Tim Mahoney and co-sponsored by Congressmen Ron Klein and

Alcee Hastings Alcee Lamar Hastings ( ; September 5, 1936 – April 6, 2021) was an American politician, and former judge from the state of Florida. Hastings was nominated to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida by President J ...

. This legislation designates the lighthouse and 120 surrounding acres of sensitive habitat as an Outstanding Natural Area (ONA) in the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

Bureau of Land Management The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands, U.S. federal lands. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the BLM oversees more than of land, or one ...

's (BLM)

National Landscape Conservation System National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West.Yaquina Head Yaquina Head ( ) is a headland extending into the Pacific Ocean north of Newport, in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the site of the Yaquina Head Light, and is managed as Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area by the Bureau of Land Management. ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

and Piedras Blancas Lighthouse in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The Congressional Bill was signed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

on May 8, 2008, protecting this site for all Americans in perpetuity. The JILONA is cooperatively managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and local partners: Palm Beach County, Town of Jupiter, Village of Tequesta, Loxahatchee River Historical Society, U.S. Coast Guard and

Jupiter High School Jupiter Community High School, also known as Jupiter High School and JHS, is a Public High School in Jupiter, Florida, United States. JHS is a part of the School District of Palm Beach County and is the northernmost high school in Palm Beach Cou ...

's Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy. Over the last decade, the group has accomplished a wealth of projects including lighthouse restoration, wetland reconstruction, river slope stabilization following hurricanes

Frances Frances is an English given name or last name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'the French.' The male version of the name in English is Francis (given name), Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "F ...

and Jeanne, fuel hazard reduction and habitat improvement for endangered species, and proving the Jupiter Inlet Working Group a uniquely successful partnership. For its dedication to safeguarding Jupiter Inlet's ecological integrity and cultural heritage, the Jupiter Inlet Working Group was given the prestigious Cooperative Conservation Award from the Department of the Interior in April, 2008.

References

External links

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and Museum
– official site *
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area
– official BLM site {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1860 Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Palm Beach County, Florida Museums in Palm Beach County, Florida Maritime museums in Florida Lighthouse museums in Florida Florida Native American Heritage Trail Jupiter, Florida 1860 establishments in Florida Transportation buildings and structures in Palm Beach County, Florida