The Jupiter Lighthouse

While my parents were here, we also went to visit the Jupiter Lighthouse, about 30 minutes south of us. The lighthouse was built in 1855, to mark the reef lying off of the Jupiter Inlet and aide in navigation. War with the Seminole Indians slowed construction, but the lighthouse was eventually lit for the first time in July of 1860. The special lenses for the beacon were designed and ground in France. Unlike the lighthouses on the Northern coasts, this one doesn't sit on a rocky cliff at the water's edge. It does, however, sit on a 41 foot prehistoric Indian shell mound.

The Jupiter lighthouse is a deep, brick red in color. It can only ever be painted that color. We learned that each each lighthouse has it's own color/pattern. This is referred to as a day beacon, meaning that ships use the lighthouse's color/pattern to gauge where they are during daylight hours, when the light isn't visible.

In 1882, the first international underwater telegraph cable was completed. It connected Jupiter, Florida with Nassau in the Bahamas. With this, Jupiter became the southernmost electronic communications point in the US. In addition to better weather forecasts, this also allowed the Navy to report on their locations or receive new orders, by rowing ashore and wiring headquarters.

During WWII, the lighthouse was used to spot German U-boats and potential sabotage. Throughout this time, more than 100 Allied ships were sunk off the coast of South Florida.

Obviously, many hurricanes have past through the Jupiter area over the years, but a hurricane that came through in 1928 was exceptionally strong. During this storm, the lighthouse swayed seventeen inches! The magnifying lens was also blown out. The lighthouse captain saved every piece of the broken eye, and it was sent to Charleston, South Carolina for repair. After the lens was repaired and reinstalled, an iron bar was placed against the lens, and it is still in place today. The most costly hurricane repair to the lighthouse was in 2004, when Hurricane Jeanne sandblasted it so extensively that the bill for restoration exceeded $300,000!

Here are a few pictures of the lighthouse.