Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Museum, Florida

The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse has a museum presenting the history of the area through the early 1900s. The building was originally a World War II naval building for housing married men. The men worked at Station J, a navigational beacon and communications relay station. The station's most important work was spotting German submarines that were harassing the Florida coast. The station was closed in 1945 and the buildings were given to the Coast Guard in the 1960s. In 2004, the land and the lighthouse were transferred to the town of Jupiter.

Jupiter Lighthouse Museum

The museum includes displays of Native American art from both before and after the discovery of America.

Pre-settlement art

Pottery

Metal work using European metals (click to enlarge)

The cannon below was discovered in 1987 by a lifeguard only 200 yards from shore. It's thought to be from the Spanish messenger ship San Miguel Arcangelo which sank in December 1659.

J and the cannon

A copper ingot also from the Spanish ship

Religious items

Displays on the lighthouse give a glimpse into the life of the families who kept the light going.

Iron bedstead and quilt

Nautical instruments

1900s-era gun

Lighthouse keeper's equipment

Just across from the museum is a drawbridge that went up several times while we were there.

Not so large boat passing through