Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Anniversary Day Offers Free Admission For Children

JUPITER, FL – July 1, 2022 – Come celebrate the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, first lit on July 10, 1860! Free admission for Kids! The celebration day includes:

• Children’s activities
• Games on the Lighthouse Deck
• Anniversary Giveaways
• Fun Photo Ops
• Churros & Ice cream Food Truck

Admission: Children (ages 18 & under) receive free admission. Adults-$12, Seniors & Veterans-$10, Lighthouse Members & active-duty military with ID are admitted free.

Children must be accompanied by an adult and be at least 48” tall to climb the Lighthouse.

Event Day Link: https://www.jupiterlighthouse.org/calendar/lighthouse-anniversary-day-july-10-2022/

Website: www.jupiterlighthouse.org

About the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse

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.

Lt. George Meade, later the Union General at Gettysburg, created the elegant design for the Jupiter Light, later improved by Lt. Raynolds, his successor, to include a double-walled tower design. After repeated challenges, Captain Edward A. Yorke sailed from Philadelphia with a ship filled with supplies, arriving on December 31, 1859. Yorke completed the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse and it’s Oil House in May of 1860 and the Jupiter Light went into service July 10, 1860. The tower has survived the civil war, hurricanes, and earth tremors.

From the first efforts to construct a Lighthouse at Jupiter Inlet, the builders and keepers faced extreme challenges. Stories of their resourcefulness and mastery completing the tower and keeping its innovative First Order Fresnel Lens lit through adversity continue to inspire today. Much of this earlier Lighthouse history is on display at the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum in the Modica Family and the Joe Namath Foundation supported Keeper’s Workshop exhibit.

Jupiter Inlet 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.

More Information:

https://www.jupiterlighthouse.org/explore/our-exhibits/

https://www.jupiterlighthouse.org/explore/outstanding-natural-area/

About the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum:

Open Tuesday - Sunday, 10am-4pm, Gift Shop open until 5pm. Visit our website for more information. www.jupiterlighthouse.org. Operated by the Loxahatchee River Historical Society a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and managing partner in the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, National Conservation Lands. Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum, 500 Captain Armour’s Way, Jupiter, FL 33469

This activity is conducted under permit from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and occurs all or in part on public lands administered by the BLM within the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area.

Jupiter, FL

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