Ralph Munroe

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Ralph Middleton Munroe (3 April 1851-20 August 1933) was an American yacht designer and early resident of Coconut Grove, in south Florida. His home, now The Barnacle Historic State Park is the oldest home in Miami-Dade County still standing on its original foundation.

[edit] Early life

Munroe was born to Thomas and Ellen Middleton Munroe at their family home on 22nd Street near 4th Avenue in New York City on April 3rd, 1851. Soon thereafter, in 1854, the Munroe family moved to Staten Island where Munroe spent his childhood. Growing up near the sea, he became fascinated with the boats that were essential to island life. While a student at Eagleswood Military Academy, near Perth Amboy, New Jersey from 1861 to 1864, he purchased his first boat, the "Hornet," for a mere $2.00, the first of many lasting relationships with the yachts that he came to adore.

After he briefly attended Columbia University in New York City, during the 1870s Munroe participated in a number of lucrative business ventures as well as yachting adventures. In 1874, he encountered William Brickell off of the coast of Staten Island; a meeting which would change his life. It was from him that Munroe learned more of Biscayne Bay, which he visited for the first time in 1877.

At 28 years of age, Munroe married Eva Amelia Hewitt in 1879 and established his permanent home at Great Kills, Staten Island. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Edith Munroe, in 1881. The joy of his daughter's birth was met with tragedy, however. Within the next few months, Eva contracted tuberculosis and in the hopes of recovery, Munroe brought her; her sister, Adeline, also tubercular; and her brother to Biscayne Bay. His daughter Edith died in her grandmother's care shortly after their departure. It was only several months after her passing that Eva also passed on, in April 1882. A devastated Munroe soon returned to Staten Island.

[edit] Move to Florida

Between the years of 1882 and 1888, Munroe returned several times to Biscayne Bay, spending winters with Charles and Isabella Peacock, who were then building the Bay View House, Dade County's first hotel, later renamed the Peacock Inn. He returned to summer in Staten Island each year. Finally, in 1886, Munroe decided to make Cocoanut Grove his permanent home and purchased the future site of The Barnacle Historic State Park, which was at the time 40 acres of bayfront property. He paid $400 in cash in addition to one of his yachts, the "Kingfish," which he valued at an additional $400. Two years later, in 1888, he sold his home in Staten Island to remain year round in Coconut Grove.

With his new home began a new life. Munroe built his boathouse directly on the bay in 1887 with living quarters on upper floor and a workshop on lower floor. He continued designing yachts, fifty-six of which he completed over the course of his lifetime. In addition, he obtained a wrecking license from the State of Florida to salvage ships on Biscayne Bay, which were numerous due to the surrounding reef and shallow waters. After he had settled into his various careers, the always social Munroe founded the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club in 1888. He was the club's first Commodore, a position he held for twenty-two years.

Fully established in every regard but one, Munroe decided to start construction of his "Barnacle" house in 1891. Soon after, he met his second wife, Jessie Wirth, on a sailing trip in 1894, and was married a year later in 1895. Jessie gave birth to a daughter, Patty, in 1900, and a son, Wirth, in 1902. Also around this time, in 1903, he and friend Tom Hine established a resort on the property called Camp Biscayne, guests of which included John Covert Boyd, William Grigsby McCormick, and Alexander Graham Bell, among others. Many who wintered at Camp Biscayne would later settle the area permanently, as Munroe did.

Munroe died on 20 August 1933 at the age of 82. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts. Munroe was survived by his wife and two children who, along with his other descendants, would continue to occupy The Barnacle until 1973, when the family sold it to the State of Florida.