The Barnacle Historic State Park
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| The Barnacle Historic State Park | |
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| IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) | |
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| Location: | Coconut Grove, Florida, USA |
| Coordinates: | |
| Area: | 5 acres |
| Governing body: | Florida Department of Environmental Protection |
The Barnacle Historic State Park is a five acre Florida State Park located on Biscayne Bay, in Coconut Grove, Florida. The address is 3485 Main Highway. Built in 1891, it is the oldest house in its original location in Dade County. It was the home of Ralph Munroe, one of Coconut Grove’s founders, who also founded the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and was a leading designer of sailing yachts. The Florida Park Service acquired the remaining five acres of Munroe's original 40-acre homesite from his descendants in 1973.
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[edit] The Barnacle Historic State Park
Ralph Middleton Munroe first visited South Florida in 1877 while on vacation from New York. On his second trip he brought his wife, who suffered from tuberculosis. Unfortunately, the cure failed and she is buried in Coconut Grove. He returned several times to the area and in 1887 decided to settle in the Bay.
Ralph Munroe purchased 40 acres of bayfront land in 1886 for $400 in addition to one of his sailboats, Kingfish, valued at an additional $400. His boathouse was built in 1887 and he lived on its upper floor until his main house was completed in 1891. The house, a one-story structure, was raised off of the ground on wood pilings. Its central room is octagonal in shape and Munroe came to call his home "The Barnacle," presumably because it resembled one. It remained a bungalow until more space was needed in 1908. At that time the whole structure, as it stood, was lifted and a new first story inserted below. The Barnacle survived the disastrous 1926 hurricane and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 with only minimal damage.
Ralph Munroe's principal passion in life was designing yachts. Boats were the major form of transportation in the early days of Coconut Grove and yachting was a popular sport. Many South Floridians commissioned Munroe to design their yachts. In 1887, a group of residents formed the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, electing Munroe as Commodore, a title that he held for 22 years. In his lifetime, he drew plans for 56 different yachts. Micco, one of the last of Munroe's boats, was displayed at the park until Hurricane Andrew reduced the 101-year-old vessel to fragments. Egret, a replica of Munroe's 28-foot modified sharpie is now moored offshore.
As a seaman, civic activist, naturalist, and photographer, Commodore Munroe was a man who cherished the natural world around him. A walk into the park passes through a tropical hardwood hammock. In the 1920s, it was representative of the original landscape within the city of Miami. Today, it is one of the last remnants of the once vast Miami Hammock.
[edit] Regatta
In the spring of 1887 Ralph Munroe organized a regatta on Biscayne Bay with fifteen boats divided into three classes. "The winners were Ada (Captain Brickell), Maggie (Captain Carney) and Edna (Captain Addison), while Alfred Munroe and Charles Peacock were timekeepers and judges. After the race all hands, about fifty in number, participated in a good dinner at the Peackock's (the Peacock Inn), given by the promoters. Thus began organized aquatic sports on the Bay, the Washington's Birthday Regatta aftrerwards being a fixture of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, until the displacement of sails by gasoline in general interest caused it to degenerate into a "Chowder-party".[1]
The 2007 Regatta marks the 12th annual revival of the Washington's Birthday Regatta on beautiful Biscayne Bay. This fun race is open to vessels of traditional design regardless of construction: mud hens, sea pearls, bullseyes, sharpies, Bahama dighies, cat boats, gaff-rigs, eyc. Fiberglass boats are permitted. The Barnacle's 28-foot sharpie Egret, a replica of Ralph Munroe's Egret will be among those racing. The race takes place on the Bay just off the shore of The Barnacle in Coconut Grove and is sponsored by The Barnacle Society, Inc. and The Barnacle Historic State Park. The race starts at noon followed by a post race party.
[edit] Timeline: Early History of the Site
- Before 1846: Largely unused, like most of South Florida, until the Seminole Wars forced Seminoles into this area. Spanish expeditions may have explored the bay on mapping expeditions, but any inland explorations are purely speculative.
- 1846: Land first surveyed.
- 1868, November 14: Edmund Beasley files claim for site under the Homestead Act. May have dug well on site. Built a small house later called the Three Sisters Cottage about this time.
- 1870: Beasley dies, leaves site to his wife, Anna.
- 1872: Site rented to Dr. Horace Porter.
- 1873, January 6: Porter establishes a post office, which he calls Cocoanut Grove.
- 1873, July: Porter unsuccessfully attempts to claim site under the Homestead Act, claiming that it had been abandoned by the Beasleys.
- 1875, May 20: Mrs. Beasley gains clear title to the site.
- 1877: Mrs. Beasley sells site to John W. Frow, lighthouse keeper at Cape Florida, for $100.00.
- 1886: Ralph Munroe purchases 40 acres for $400.00 plus the boat "Kingfish" which he values at $400.00.
- 1887: First Washington's Birthday Regatta held.
[edit] Timeline: History of the Barnacle
- 1887: Ralph Munroe builds boathouse with living quarters on upper floor and workshop on lower floor.
- 1891, Summer: Ralph begins constructing the Barnacle house.
- 1895: Ralph marries Jessie Wirth.
- 1900: Daughter, Patty, born. Jessie's sister, Josephine, joins household to help with child.
- 1902: Son, Wirth, born.
- 1903: Northwest corner of house expanded.
- 1908: House raised and first floor added.
- 1913: House electrified and library added.
- 1916: Indoor bathrooms added to northeast corner of first floor and area off of Mr. & Mrs. Munroe's bedroom with water tank on second floor.
- 1926: Original boathouse destroyed in hurricane. House sustains minor damage. Boathouse later rebuilt along lines substantially like those of original.
- 1928: House assumes present day form by enclosing porches on sides of house on both floors and extending library and kitchen.
- 1932: Patty marries William Catlow, moves to New Jersey.
- 1933: Wirth marries Mary Poore.
- 1933, August 20: Ralph dies at age 82. Buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, MA.
- 1940: Jessie dies, Wirth and Mary move into house with their children, Charles and William.
- 1959: Josephine Wirth (Aunt Dodie) dies.
- 1968: Wirth dies.
- 1973: Munroe family sells site to the State of Florida.
- 1992: Hurricane Andrew heavily damages boathouse, destroys one of the last surviving Munroe boats, the "Micco", but house receives only very minor damage.
- 1994: Site of the final answer in the 1994 Tropic Hunt, just before reopening to the public.
[edit] Activities
Daytime activities include touring the historic site, picnicking, and wildlife viewing. Concerts and other events are held frequently throughout the year.
[edit] Hours of Operation
The Barnacle is open to the public 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Friday through Monday with guided tours at 10:00 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. The park is open Tuesday through Thursday for group tours with advance reservations. The park is closed New Year's, Thanksgiving and Christmas days.
[edit] Park Fees
Admission to the park is $1.00 per person age 6 and over; under 6 are free.
[edit] Driving Directions
[edit] From the North
Take I-95 South to the end, which becomes US 1. Continue South and Turn left at SW 27th Avenue. Continue to the end turn right on Bayshore Drive. As Bayshore Drive Bends right, it becomes MacFarlane Road. Move onto left lane and take a hard left at the traffic light on Main Highway. The park is on the left shortly after the intersection of Commodore Plaza Street. It is across the street from Senor Frog's restaurant, a green building. There is no parking available in the park itself, except for those with disabilities.
[edit] From the South
Take US 1 North to Bird Road/SW 40th Street. Turn right at McDonald Road and continue to the end which has a traffic light. Turn left on Grand Avenue, making an immediate right on Commodore Plaza Street. Continue to the end and turn right on Main Highway. The park is on the left. There is no parking available in the park itself, except for those with disabilities.
[edit] By Metrobus
Buses #22 and #42 from Douglas Metrorail station. Bus #27 from Coconut Grove Metrorail Station. Bus #48 from Government Center and Douglas Metrorail Stations.
[edit] References
- ^ The Commodore's Story, Ralph Middleton Munroe and Vincent Gilpin, page 166-167
- The Barnacle Historic State Park at Florida State Parks
- The Barnacle State Historic Site at Absolutely Florida
- The Barnacle State Historic Site at Wildernet
