158th Lighthouse Anniversary Celebrating with Free admission for children on July 10, 2018

158th Lighthouse Anniversary Celebrating with Free admission for children on July 10, 2018

We’re offering free admission for children 18 & under on July 10th, 10am-4pm. Help us celebrate our 158th anniversary by touring the Lighthouse & Museum and see all we have to offer. Admission includes the Museum (self-guiding) and grounds admission to visit the Lighthouse & Keepers Workshop, Lighthouse Deck, Tindall Pioneer Homestead and Seminole Chickee. Regular admission rates apply to adults and children must be accompanied by an adult. Children must be 48″ tall to climb the Lighthouse.

The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum now offers a choice between guided or smartphone tours. Guided tours are offered at 11am & 2 pm. Smartphone tours allow you to tour the Lighthouse and grounds at your pace. See our Hours & Ticket Prices page at www.jupiterlighthouse.org for more details on regular admission.

A Bit of History…

An impressive point of land sits at the junction of the Indian River and Jupiter Inlet and for thousands of years had been a meeting place for ancient Indian tribes. This strategic site did not go unnoticed by army surveyors who in 1849 recommended the Jupiter Inlet area as a suitable place for military defenses.

President Franklin Pierce signed the order to set aside a 61 & ½-acre site on the Fort Jupiter Reservation for a lighthouse in 1854. The lighthouse was designed by Lieutenant George Gordon Meade and Lt. William Raynolds, who succeeded him as head of the 4th and 7th Lighthouse Districts, improved the strength with a double wall design. The lighthouse and Oil house construction was accomplished by Captain Edward Yorke, who arrived Dec. 31, 1859 and completed the tower in May 1860. It was lit July 10, 1860. The tower has survived the civil war, hurricanes, and earth tremors.

Cool Lighthouse Facts:

First Lit                         July 10, 1860

Construction                 Brick, double masonry walls, outer conical, tapering from 31.5” (8 bricks thick) at ground to 18 inches (3 bricks thick) at base of lantern.  Inner wall cylindrical and 2 bricks thick throughout.  Circumference at base is about 65’ and at top about 43’.

Height                          156’ – 108’ tower on a 48’ hill, natural parabolic dune top with a layer of shell.

Optic                            First order Fresnel lens, manufactured in Paris by Henry-Lepaute and reputed to be the oldest existing first order Fresnel lens in Florida.  Of the six regular orders of lenses, the first is the most powerful.

Range                          24 miles.  This is the distance that the light can be seen on a ship at sea.  To someone in an airplane, the light would be visible 40-50 miles away.

Electrified                     1928.  A 1/3 horsepower motor turns the lens carriage.

Automated                    June 8, 1987.  A photoelectric cell turns the bulb and motor on when the sun sets and off when the sun rises.

Daymark                      Red with black lantern.  Coastal lighthouses have different markings to enable ships to determine their location during daylight.

Photo Credit: William A. Leonard

We are a Blue Star Museum and offer free admission to active-duty US Military and their immediate families year-round.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum, Lighthouse Park, 500 Captain Armour’s Way, Jupiter, FL, 33469  PH: 561-747-8380

Open Tuesday – Sunday, (7 Days a week January-February,) 10am-5pm. Call or visit our website for more information. www.jupiterlighthouse.org   Operated by the Loxahatchee River Historical Society a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and partner in the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, National Conservation Lands.

 

 

 

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