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On Veterans Day 2019, the Loxahatchee River Historical Society (LRHS) hosted a ceremony to mark the transfer of ownership of Florida’s Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse from the United States Coast Guard to the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The transfer brings to an end 80 years of Coast Guard ownership, dating back to the 1939 take-over of the Lighthouse Service. In addition to the lighthouse, Coast Guard operations on the site have included a direction-finding radio station and housing for Loran Station Jupiter, Small Boat Station Lake Worth Inlet, and Small Boat Station Fort Pierce.
Capt. James Passarelli,7th District Chief of Staff, represented the Coast Guard. Bob Swithers, Southeastern States District Manager, represented the BLM. LRHS President Jamie Stuve and LRHS Historian Josh Liller also spoke at the event. Guests included Capt. Harry Mautte (USCG Base Miami CO), members of the local Aids to Navigation Team from Fort Pierce, veterans of the Coast Guard station, local government officials, BLM district and site staff, and LRHS staff and volunteers. Pat Dixon, a Coast Guard civilian real estate officer, received special acknowledgment at the ceremony for her invaluable support over the last two decades.
The transferred property includes the 1860 lighthouse, 1860 oil house, 1928 radio beacon transmitter building, several auxiliary light station structures, and eleven former single-family quarters built in 1962. This “historic corridor” is part of the 120-acre Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area, specially designated by Congress in 2008. It is one of only three ONAs in the country and the only unit of the BLM’s National Conservation Lands east of the Mississippi River.
The nonprofit Loxahatchee River Historical Society has been involved with the Coast Guard and Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse since 1973 when they opened the Oil House Museum. LRHS has been responsible for operating and maintaining the lighthouse under a Coast Guard lease since 1994 and will continue that same role with the change of ownership. Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse remains an active public aid to navigation with its rare first-order Fresnel lens. The tower and grounds are open to visitors on a daily basis as part of the LRHS-operated Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum.
“This ceremony marked another historic milestone in the life of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse,” said William Perry Pendley, Acting BLM Director. “The BLM remains committed to working shoulder-to-shoulder with our local partners, especially the Loxahatchee River Historical Society.”
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