Page 4 - Jupiter Ocean Mile - February '22

Page 4, Jupiter Ocean Mile
Loxahatchee River Historical Society:

Illuminating History For 50 Years - From Oil House

Museum To A National Heritage Site

Jan. 27 marked a remarkable milestone for the local
nonprofit Loxahatchee River Historical Society (LRHS).
Fifty years ago, the society incorporated to begin the
important work of documenting and preserving the area’s
more than 6,000-year history. Today the society is best known
for operating the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum.
In 1970, Ethel Gravett took her son’s Cub Scout troop
to visit the home of local historian and pioneer Bessie
Wilson DuBois. Bessie told the Cub Scouts stories of
our history, while showing them treasures, artifacts, and
photos she collected over her lifetime in Jupiter. When
Ethel learned that Bessie was worried about the future
of her collection, she had a vision that would change
our community forever. Serving as the chair for Jupiter-
Tequesta Junior Woman’s Club, she galvanized local civic
organizations and other community members, organized
meetings, and formed the “Loxahatchee Historical
Society.” The following year, the society opened the first
Lighthouse Museum in the 1860 Oil House adjacent to
the Lighthouse.
First there was the urgent need for preservation. The
society acquired the listing of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
on the National Register of Historic Places and the 1898
DuBois Pioneer Home, which they operated as a museum
house from 1977 until 2007, when the county closed it for
renovations. Volunteers rallied to save the Lighthouse and
maintain it as an active aid to navigation when the U.S. Dedication of the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Outstanding Natural Area
Coast Guard considered decommissioning the Lighthouse
in favor of a modern light atop a condo. are a part of the U.S. Department of Interior and managed Inlet Lighthouse & Museum serving over 100,000 annual
The Loxahatchee Historical Museum opened in 1988 by the Bureau of Land Management. The Congressional visitors today, the society has honored the legacy of that
in Burt Reynolds Park offering exhibits and creating a Bill was signed by President George W. Bush on May first meeting between Ethel Gravett and Bessie DuBois.
home for the DuBois and other collections. On Pearl 8, 2008 and gave the Jupiter Lighthouse the national As we look back over the past 50 years, we honor
Harbor Day 2006, the society opened the Jupiter Inlet recognition it deserves. The society was named as a the dedication of the volunteers and staff of the LRHS
Lighthouse & Museum in the restored WWII Navy managing partner, an unusual honor for a nonprofit in for their dedication to keep preserving and retelling the
Married Men’s Housing building. The society then public lands legislation. stories of our unique coastal community and its cherished
spearheaded efforts to obtain permanent protection of the From the opening of the first Lighthouse Museum in Lighthouse. Visit jupiterlighthouse.org to join us for
Lighthouse and surrounding 120 acres of sensitive habitat the 1860 Oil House to the current operations of the Jupiter upcoming 50th Anniversary programs and events.
as an Outstanding Natural Area (ONA) in the National
Conservation Lands. These special Conservation Lands

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Ethel Gravett at the LHS Oil House Museum dedication in 1973

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