The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse was authorized by Congress in 1853 in order to act as an aide for those in open water. The lighthouse is one of six Florida lighthouse projects that were assigned to the Lieutenant George Gordon Meade of the U.S. Army Corps of Topographic Engineers. Originally, construction was supposed to begin in late 1855, but it was stalled due to the Third Seminole War. Work on the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse finally began in January 1859, and the beacon was officially lit on July 10, 1860. During the Civil War, the inlet was used by Confederate blockade runners, operating between Florida and the Bahamas. The light of Jupiter was disabled by Confederate sympathizers, and it remained dark throughout the war’s entirety. Today, the lighthouse remains an active Aid to Navigation with one of thirteen active First-Order Fresnel lenses in the entire United States. The lighthouse became a museum in 1973 due to the work of the Loxahatchee River Historical Society.
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