n 1853, Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse near Jupiter Inlet. The federal government designated a 61.5-acre lighthouse reservation the following year. However, a survey from the 1920s, discovered that the reservation actually comprised 122 acres.

Jupiter was one of six Florida lighthouse projects assigned to Lieutenant George Gordon Meade of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographic Engineers. A decade later, he would famously defeat Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg as a Major General in the Union Army. Meade selected the site and created the original design for the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. His successor, Lieutenant William F. Raynolds, improved on the final design by adding height and a double wall. Edward A. Yorke, a civilian, oversaw construction of the light station in 1859 and 1860. The tower was officially lighted on July 10, 1860.

After the onset of the American Civil War, assistant keeper Augustus Lang and other local Confederate sympathizers disabled the light, which remained dark throughout the war. The inlet reopened naturally in 1862, allowing it to be used by Confederate blockade runners operating between Florida and the Bahamas. Union gunboats patrolled offshore and sent rowed cutters into the Indian River.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse was relighted on June 28, 1866. It has remained an active aid to navigation ever since. James Armour, who had helped the Union Navy recover parts and supplies removed from the lighthouse during the war, was one of the new keepers. In 1869, he was promoted to Head Keeper. Armour did not retire until 1906 – a remarkable 40 years of service as the lighthouse keeper. Captain Armour’s Way is named in his honor.

In 2008, the Jupiter Lighthouse Reservation was Congressionally-designated Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area. Ownership of the lighthouse and former Coast Guard station was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management in 2019. The historic Fresnel lens is still owned by the Coast Guard. The lighthouse remains an active public Aid to Navigation, with 1 of only 13 active First-Order Fresnel lenses in the entire United States. The non-profit Loxahatchee River Historical Society (LRHS) first opened a lighthouse museum on site in 1973. Since 1994, LRHS has served as the modern keepers of the Jupiter Light through a formal agreement to restore and preserve the lighthouse, and to provide visitor access and historical interpretation. The lighthouse sits 41' above sea level on a sand hill and shell mound. There are 34 stairs from the gate to the base of the lighthouse and then 105 on the very narrow spiral staircase to the top.

Here are a few photos taken yesterday of the lighthouse, the sitting area under the beautiful Ficus trees just outside the lighthouse, a few of the boats in the charter fleet and a 3-photo pano of the inlet and surrounding homes and Condos. Best viewed in DL and DDL....Cheers

n 1853, Congress authorized the building of a lighthouse near Jupiter Inlet. The federal government designated a 61.5-acre lighthouse reservation the following year. However, a survey from the 1920s, discovered that the reservation actually comprised 122 acres.

Jupiter was one of six Florida lighthouse projects assigned to Lieutenant George Gordon Meade of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographic Engineers. A decade later, he would famously defeat Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Gettysburg as a Major General in the Union Army. Meade selected the site and created the original design for the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. His successor, Lieutenant William F. Raynolds, improved on the final design by adding height and a double wall. Edward A. Yorke, a civilian, oversaw construction of the light station in 1859 and 1860. The tower was officially lighted on July 10, 1860.

After the onset of the American Civil War, assistant keeper Augustus Lang and other local Confederate sympathizers disabled the light, which remained dark throughout the war. The inlet reopened naturally in 1862, allowing it to be used by Confederate blockade runners operating between Florida and the Bahamas. Union gunboats patrolled offshore and sent rowed cutters into the Indian River.

Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse was relighted on June 28, 1866. It has remained an active aid to navigation ever since. James Armour, who had helped the Union Navy recover parts and supplies removed from the lighthouse during the war, was one of the new keepers. In 1869, he was promoted to Head Keeper. Armour did not retire until 1906 – a remarkable 40 years of service as the lighthouse keeper. Captain Armour’s Way is named in his honor.

In 2008, the Jupiter Lighthouse Reservation was Congressionally-designated Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area. Ownership of the lighthouse and former Coast Guard station was transferred to the Bureau of Land Management in 2019. The historic Fresnel lens is still owned by the Coast Guard. The lighthouse remains an active public Aid to Navigation, with 1 of only 13 active First-Order Fresnel lenses in the entire United States. The non-profit Loxahatchee River Historical Society (LRHS) first opened a lighthouse museum on site in 1973. Since 1994, LRHS has served as the modern keepers of the Jupiter Light through a formal agreement to restore and preserve the lighthouse, and to provide visitor access and historical interpretation. The lighthouse sits 41' above sea level on a sand hill and shell mound. There are 34 stairs from the gate to the base of the lighthouse and then 105 on the very narrow spiral staircase to the top.

Here are a few photos taken yesterday of the lighthouse, the sitting area under the beautiful Ficus trees just outside the lighthouse, a few of the boats in the charter fleet and a 3-photo pano of the inlet and surrounding homes and Condos. Best viewed in DL and DDL....Cheers