The Barefoot Mailman
During this time the only Post Offices in South Florida were along the coast. And the easiest way to walk the route between them was to take your shoes off and walk along the beach.
And the walk from Miami to Jupiter Inlet, was just a mere three days, with only the mail and your shoes on your back.
Turning the Light
To keep the outer mechanism rotating was hard work. The keeper wound a cable to a 250 pound lead weight around a large cylinder and watched it descend as it powered the works. He'd repeat the windup process every two to three hours during his routine of oiling the turning mechanism, cleaning the lamp and maintaining his log.
Civilization Arrives
First to arrive were those on day excursions, brought by steamships and paddle wheelers from Titusville. Then the Celestial railroad and more steamers brought settlers as the reservation was opened to home building. Due to the railroad the great steamers rusted on the Loxahatchee, but not before the first residents had grabbed their windows and doors to use in the first Jupiter homes.
Naval Wireless
From 1890 until just after the turn of the century, Jupiter was the southernmost electronic communication point in the US. These were the days before ship to shore communication. US naval ships visited Jupiter often to pick up messages and orders. On one such occasion the first battelship in the US, the USS Oregon visited Jupiter, it caused
quite an event.
The New Light
In 1928 Jupiter light was converted from the old mineral lamps and system of weights, to electricity.
Whilst in the process of the transfer a great hurricane struck. The light would have remained dark, but for the bravery of the lighthouse keeper, his wife and the staff, who found and re-installed the old lamps and turned the machinery by hand until
the storm passed.