The Atlantic Coast of Florida has an amazing history, and a highlight of this history are the 20 Houses of Refuge where keepers would be on the lookout along the sparsely populated East Coast of Florida when sailing ships dominated world commerce. These locations served as rescue stations for shipwrecked survivors along the coast where they would need help getting to shore and getting warm and dry. The House of Refuge that we’re seeing today is the only one that’s left.
This building was originally built in 1875 and is the oldest building in Martin County. This side is facing the bay between Hutchinson barrier island where the house is located and Sewall Point peninsula (more about these 2 places later).
View from the porch toward Sewall Point.
Keepers at these refuges provided shelter, food, clothing, and transportation to survivors of shipwrecks and storms at sea.
Brian, our host, warmly greeted us to this House of Refuge and told us some fun stories.
In the early 1870s, Sumner Kimball, the Superintendent of Life Saving Service that was part of the U.S. Treasury, referred to this area as a “howling wilderness.” Sailing ships dominated world commerce, and the continual loss of life and property along this coastline created a national outcry. Kimball had to come up with a plan to rescue shipwreck survivors and return them to civilization.
Houses of Refuge didn’t have any life-saving crews but rather were occupied by one lone keeper and his family (if he had one). The keeper’s job was to walk along the shore in both directions after storms, searching for shipwreck victims.
Each keeper had to be physically sound and able to read and write. The law made them the guardians of shipwrecked property until it was relieved by its owners.
The keeper was responsible for the upkeep of the station, its equipment, and its supplies. Keepers had to be multi-talented since they were required to keep a daily log of weather and ships and submit wreck reports. Since the houses were so close to the ocean, they took the brunt of the rain, wind, and sea spray. They were constantly needing repairs so the keepers had to be skilled carpenters. Fishing, hunting, boating, and wilderness survival skills were mandatory. The keepers also had to have basic medical knowledge to nurse injured survivors back to health.
The houses were about a day’s walk from each other, around 15 to 20 miles, along the coast.
famous keeper
Hubert Bessey was one of the well known keepers at this House of Refuge. He moved to Florida from Ohio in 1880, moving to Stuart in 1833 and started growing pineapples on his homestead. Bessey was the first homesteader on the south fork of the St. Lucie River. He met his future wife, Susan Corbin, a teacher from Tennessee, at a local dance in a pineapple packing house on the Indian River. They married in 1895 when he was already a keeper.
In this picture he is in his steam-powered boat.
His many enterprises supplemented his $600 a year salary for being a keeper. He also built boats and was a local fishing guide. President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland were good friends with the Hubert and Sue and visited Florida in 1901 so President Cleveland could go fishing with Hubert.
On the left is one of the boats Mr. Bessey built in his boatyard. On the right, Mrs. Bessey, known to locals as Aunt Sue, is standing with her sister at the riverside dock. Aunt Sue was known for her Sunday afternoon teas, hosting parties, and weddings at the House of Refuge.
Here is information on some of the other keepers who lived here.
Johansen was a Norwegian sea captain who had been shipwrecked near Cape Canaveral. The keeper’s daughter, Kate, discovered him, and eventually they married and served here from 1902 to 1903, returning in 1910. When the U.S. Coast Guard took over in 1915, they remained in charge.
William Rea’s tenure was the most eventful of the keepers because he was in charge when the back-to-back wrecks of the Georges Valentine and Cosme Coltrado occurred in October 1904. We’ll see more about these shipwrecks later in this post. Rea served here until 1907 when he built a home in Stuart.
ocean side of the house
This side of the house faced the Atlantic Ocean
We loved the view! Such a beautiful day.
More views that include the top of the water cistern and a reconstructed watch tower from WWII.
First let’s take a look at the inside of the house from the time of Hubert and Sue Bessey lived there. Then we’ll look at the early years around the house and how it was used in later years.
The floor plans of all the Houses of Refuge were alike and the rooms were always used in the same way. On the east and west sides of the house, all the doors and windows line up with each other to take advantage of the cross breeze to keep the house cool and the bugs out. Interesting that a house this small had only 4 rooms, 5 exterior doors, and 8 windows.
the bedroom
The octagon framed artwork on the wall, known as hair art, belonged to Mrs. Rea who wove it out of human hair. This style of art was popular during the Victorian era.
I remember seeing these wall decorations in other Victorian homes we’ve visited.
What a lovely, airy room . . . with a chamber pot for nighttime use.
Sarah Rea, 7 years old, tells us about the small bed since her parents weren’t tall and about the chamber pot. The friendship quilt we’ll see soon was made by Mrs. Bessey and her friends as a gift to Mrs. Rea when the family came here so Mr. Rea could be the keeper.
Quilting bees were a social institution for the women in the 1800s in both rural and urban areas. This time together was for socializing and exchanging gossip. Designing and making quilts is an art form involving color, textures, design, patterns, and sewing skills. Making quilts also gave the women some time to sit down and relax from their daily housework and farm chores.
lovely quilt!
the parlor
The parlor was used for entertaining. Stairs to the second story for those having to stay here after a shipwreck are on the right, behind the closet. If a keeper had children, they probably slept upstairs.
This second story was one big room that ran the length of the building and was equipped with cots and provisions for the shipwreck survivors. We’ll see a picture of the second floor in just a bit.
The parlor had many uses: keeper’s office, tea parties, weddings, and family time.
the dining room
The china and lace tablecloth belonged to Mrs. Bessey.
China pattern is Buttercup.
lovely room
the kitchen
Fireplaces in all of the Houses of Refuge weren’t designed well since smoke came back down the chimney into the house. For this reason, and because the fire would bring heat into an already hot house from Florida’s warm weather, much of the cooking was probably done outside. Eventually the keepers had stoves in their houses.
Mrs. Rea had to use her laundry tub to cook in when the 22 shipwrecked sailors from the 2 ships were with them (more later). The keeper was paid a salary to provide for himself and his family. Early on the keeper would have to make a 2-week trip by sailboat north on the Indian River to Titusville to buy supplies. Remember this information when you read about Sewall’s Point.
Ironing was done with cast irons (which we’ve seen in other homes) that had been heated in the fire. An ironing board would have been balanced between 2 flat back chairs.
The shotgun over the door was always loaded and ready. Bears were always a threat because they swam to the island to raid the turtle nests and eat the hatchlings. The mosquito switch was always hanging by the door to swat mosquitoes off before entering the building.
Sarah Rea tells us that in her family, 2 kettles were in the kitchen; mom liked her tea, and dad loved his coffee.
Keepers weren’t expected to provide medical care to save lives but rather to provide food, water, and a dry bed for those lucky enough to make it to shore.
The houses were also homes for them and their wives and children. Families helped make life less lonely, as well as help complete the keeper’s tasks by walking the beach after large storms and reporting surf conditions throughout the day. Families were responsible for the laundry, cooking, and cleaning.
This list is the inventory of items provided by the government. Creature comforts had to be made by hand or brought with the families when they arrived.
Fresh water came from the cistern on the side of the house that collected rain water from the cypress roof (more later). The cisterns didn’t always work well when the roofs were new, and several family members got sick from the “brown in color, bitter cypress flavored water.”
While keepers weren’t paid much, it was a job that provided a home. As long as they could handle the isolation, it was a good job for the time.
early years along the coast
early homesteads were shacks made out of palmetto and barrel staves
Isolation and the hostile environment “welcomed” newcomers. The early pioneers had to learn to cope with this new landscape.
Mosquitoes above ground and large, black ants at their feet. Not a welcoming place for early settlers.
Can’t you just imagine the sound the mosquitoes made while people were trying to sleep?
The entire coast was a “howling wilderness,” virtually unchanged since Ponce de Leon discovered the land. Sailors wrecked along this coast could only leave when they could get to vessels passing by on the sea.
Houses of Refuges were a day’s walk apart; each keeper would have been responsible for the coast north and south of him.
As more people settled in the area, they would party late into the night, in this case waking keeper Hubert Bessey.
Keepers’ children often spent their entire childhood at stations far from schools, neighbors, and friends. A Miami real estate dealer said “Florida was no place for women; just for men and dogs.” As though that type of thinking would keep a wife from being with her husband.
Black bears were once common on Hutchinson Island as they dug for turtle eggs or tore at bee hives for honey. Panthers and wildcats were in the woods. And then the mosquitoes were so thick that “you could cut them with a knife.”
Here’s some more information about a keeper’s life that was described as monotony punctuated by terror. Mile posts were placed along the shore to indicate the distance and direction to the nearest house. Years could go by without a wreck.
Some keepers and their wives remember their years at their well-constructed homes as some of their most enjoyable. Each keeper kept a daily log that noted such items as the weather and the number of ships passing his station.
Among the tools of his trade were a small metal boat and a coil of rope.
Their mission was to provide sustenance and shelter to shipwreck victims, helping them return to civilization.
An early house with the cistern next to it. Each house had a porch on the front and on the rear.
The round brick cistern held fresh water for the keeper and his family using a series of gutters and pipes so the rainwater could flow off the roof and down into it. Many of the keepers commented on the brown color and bitter taste caused by the rain running over the newly constructed cypress shingle roof.
In 1933 the House of Refuge was severely damaged by a hurricane. Two years later it was moved 30 feet from the ocean using block and tackle. A boathouse also was constructed that is now the museum entrance and gift shop. Also, 2 large elevated cisterns were built beside the house.
the Gulf Stream
As we walked through the House of Refuge and learned about the need to watch out for shipwreck victims, I kept wondering, “Why here?” The answer, I found, is the Gulf Stream. Ships use its north-flowing current to travel north along the coast of the U.S. and then cross the Atlantic when it veers eastward.
Juan Ponce de Leon, the 16th-century Spanish explorer who is credited with discovering and naming Florida, is also credited with discovering the Gulf Stream.
It was used by treasure-laden ships following Spain’s colonization of the New World. Bad weather blew ships off course toward the rocky coast where pirates took advantage of others bad luck. Because of the salvaging efforts that are still going on, the area has become known as “The Treasure Coast.”
The warm waters of the Gulf Stream are shown in yellow; now its influence on shipping makes sense.
changes keep happening
When the U.S. Life Saving Services (that oversaw the Houses of Refuge) merged with the Revenue Cutter Service in 1915, the U.S. Coast Guard was born. We saw more about this when we were traveling along the northern coast of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The keeper at each station was now officially “Surfman No. 1” and had a crew to command. Sea worthy boats capable of search and rescue missions were available.
During WWI, the crew was helped out by local boys/men called the Home Guard.
Their equipment now included the breeches buoy, a Lyle gun, and surf boats that were manned by 6 oarsmen and a coxswain. These boats had 2 bows so could go in any direction without having to turn around so rescue teams could save valuable time.
Here the men are practicing their life-saving skills.
Here’s some more information about the early U.S. Coast Guard. During WWII, the Coast Guard served along side the Navy at the House of Refuge (more later).
The crew at Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge with an early Coast Guard flag.
The Lyle gun was used as an important tool when rescuing shipwreck victims. It was used to shoot a line to the ship in distress so they could connect with stronger lines to send over buoys and chairs to transfer them to safety.
This breeches buoy helped to transfer victims to land. Its cork ring kept men afloat if a line broke. Canvas breeches kept men stable as they moved along. A pulley moved it back and forth until all were rescued.
Starting in 1944, helicopters started using them for battling disasters at sea, and the breeches buoy was no longer used. Ships then were larger and used shipping lanes that were further out so land rescues were no longer needed.
The life-saving tools and a man being transferred to land.
during war times
During WWI, men stationed here patrolled the beach and watched the sea for an enemy invasion. Right after Pearl Harbor, German U-boats torpedoed freighters in the Gulf Stream.
Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge sat between 2 top secret bases. The birthplace of Frog Men, today’s U.S. Navy Seals, and the training devised for the 140,000 D-Day Invasion was on property just north of Fort Pierce inlet (more about this in the next post). South of here at today’s Jonathan Dickinson State Park was Camp Murphy, an Army top secret radar training school.
A lookout tower, similar to the one that stands today, was built in 1942, allowing the Coast Guardsmen to see greater distances for the enemy on sea and in the air.
The U.S. Coast Guard turned over control of the Houses of Refuge to the Navy for patrol stations even before Pearl Harbor.
The coast of south Florida was under watch for German submarines and aircraft.
This map shows locations of torpedoed ships just off the coast of Florida, especially Stuart.
But of course there’s always a story that’s waiting to be told. On February 21, 1942, the Germans torpedoed a ship and survivors came ashore at Hobe Sound, just south of Stuart. Two torpedoes hit the ship and killed 5 in the blast. The 1 torpedo that missed the ship struck the reef shore, and the residents in Stuart felt the force far inland.
The citizens of Jupiter Island and Hobe Sound brought clothes and food to the American survivors. The last man ashore was Captain Anderson who told the newspapermen that they couldn’t print a word of this event because we were at war.
a torpedoed tanker
Guardsmen used horses to patrol the beaches from Vero to Hobe Sound since they were quiet, didn’t have headlights, and could walk quietly on the beach instead of requiring paved roads.
These Coast Guardsmen were stationed here in August 1943.
Life at Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge in 1942 for the Coast Guardsmen was pretty calm. They lived out of their seabags and slept on canvas cots. Their duties were to report any planes that passed over, how many engines each plane had along with its altitude and direction. A phone call relayed this information to an information center in Miami.
Off hours were spent swimming or playing sports on the beach. Movie theaters in Stuart and Jensen provided entertainment. The greatest discomfort seemed to be the cold nights while they were on patrol.
early sailing ships communicationtool
During the early days of sailing ships, the problem of one ship asking for help from another ship when their crews spoke different languages was answered by these wooden communication paddles that were about 15 inches long and weighted with lead on one end and a line attached on the other. Each paddle had a questions, answers, or instructions in that ship’s native tongue on one side with the same messages in other languages on the reverse side.
For example, if an English-speaking ship came to the aid of a disabled Spanish ship, the English ship would toss over a paddle with the appropriate instructions printed in Spanish and French on one side and English on the other.
Eventually other signaling devices were designed, particularly the international signal flags that are still used throughout the world today.
early communication paddles—how inventive!
shipwrecks
While many wrecks happened along the coast over the years, one of the most notable was the Georges Valentine in 1904. As the ship tried to pass the southern end of Florida early in October, it was engaged by a fierce storm with gale force winds and turbulent seas so that the captain turning north along the Florida coast. To keep control in deep water, the deck load of milled mahogany wood was cast overboard.
On October 16, at 8:00 p.m., the ship crashed and broke up on the reef offshore by Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge. As she floundered, 5 men died and were lost at sea. The remaining 7 injured crewmen were saved by Captain William Rea, keeper of Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge.
None of the surviving men were able to stand when they were brought to the station, being chilled to the bone from exposure to the elements without clothing and exhaustion from hanging onto the rigging as they battled with the waves that were one mass of floating lumber. Many were dashed against the rocks many times before the keeper could get to them.
The wood that made it to shore was salvaged by local pioneer families to use in building their houses and furniture. This sign indicates that much of the wood was the mahogany that it was transporting. Perhaps this was wood that was stored below the decks since the wood above the deck had been tossed overboard as they were rounding the tip of Florida in the storm.
Today the Georges Valentine lies about 100 yards offshore of Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge and is now, at an average depth of 22 feet, available to recreational snorkelers and SCUBA divers.
When the sand is washed out from the shore, the steamer smoke stack cap can still be seen on the beach.
Two days later the Cosme Colzado also broke up in front of this House of Refuge. All of these 22 men from the 2 wrecks stayed here—the most people the House of Refuge ever housed.
Pictures of the second floor with cots set up for shipwreck survivors.
why here?
So this is the big question—why was this area a good site for the House of Refuge? Europeans arriving at Hutchinson Island in the 16th century found the area populated by hundreds of Native Americans in settlements bordering both the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River. A rich marine environment provided a diet of fish, shellfish, and sea animals, including whale and sea turtle. The land also provided them with deer, birds, bear, snakes, and edible and medicinal plants.
Tools and weapons were fashioned from bone, shell, and wood. Vessels were made from gourds, wood, and clay. Wooden dugout canoes ferried groups and families from the ocean to the St. Lucie and Indian Rivers. By the late 1700s, disease, warfare, and slave raids had decimated the Native American populations. No known descendants are in the area.
The “bar” is a shoal of Anastasia rock that is a formation of shell and limestone that the sea has compressed over thousands of years. This shoal runs along the coastline and has caused many wrecks over the years. This shell stone is so durable that the Spanish fortress in St. Augustine is constructed of similar material.
why the name?
Legend has it that Don Pedro Gilbert, one of the most ferocious pirates in the area during the 1820s and 30s, is responsible for the bar’s name. One of their tricks was to deceive passing ships with a fire on the beach at night. Coming to shore, the ships would run aground on the rocky shoal. Gilbert’s crew would then kill the ship’s men, help themselves to the cargo, and burn the ship.
Don Pedro Gilbert and most of his crew were the last pirates to be hung in the United States in Boston in 1836.
looks like a nasty man!
Gilbert, as a privateer for Columbia, sailed the seas on his black schooner, the Panda, which had the ability to travel through shallow inlets and into protected waterways and such rivers as the Indian and St. Lucie.
Sewall’s Point
Captain Henry Sewall built his home and dock at the tip of a narrow peninsula across the bay from the House of Refuge and later established a post office. It became known as Sewall’s Point.
The keeper and his family now had direct contact with civilization. Sailboats and steamers stopped at Sewall’s dock, bringing mail, passengers, and news from the outside world. Before this the keepers had to sail north to Titusville (by Cape Canaveral) for supplies, about a 2-week trip. What a change for this area of Florida!
Keeper Bessey met Elias Simmons and his family at the Sewall’s dock and invited him to the House of Refuge so Elias could help him build boats. Mr. Simmons’ daughter, Belle, remembered man-eating sharks following her in the shallows as she walked the beach on Hutchinson Island. Her grandson, Ross Witham, known as “The Turtle Man” (more later) was an integral part of the history in this area.
Remember Hugh Willoughby from The Elliott Museum?
He took this aerial photograph of Sewall’s Point, showing the post office dock, in 1914.
why Hutchinson Island?
The barrier island where the House of Refuge stands was named for James Hutchinson who received a Spanish land grant in the early 1800s. The original grant was for land on the mainland, but he transferred it to the island because he thought it would be easier to protect his crops, animals, and slaves from marauding Indians.
However, it was the pirates who gave him problems. Hutchinson drowned while returning from St. Augustine where he had gone to complain to the Spanish authorities that he was having problems with pirates who burned his buildings, stole his slaves, and ruined his crops.
While only a small portion of the original grant went to his heirs, the name remains. Wonder if this satisfied his heirs?
Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge sits on the narrowest part of Hutchinson Island. The Indian River is on the west (the right side of the picture), and the Atlantic Ocean is on the east (the left side of the picture).
saving the turtles
Remember we mentioned Ross Witham, the grandson of Belle Simmons whose father helped Keeper Bessey start his boat building business?
One day while strolling on the beach as a young man, he saw a struggling baby turtle, or hatchling, caught in seaweed. He untangled it and released it to the sea.
When he noticed that only a small number of hatchlings actually made it to adulthood, he began collecting and incubating turtle eggs and raising baby turtles here at the House of Refuge. The hatchlings were raised in captivity from 6 months to 1 year, increasing their chances for survival once they were released.
The population of green turtles that had almost been extinct actually swelled after he started his program. Thanks to him and other conservation efforts, the program was so successful that it has now been discontinued. Now female turtles and their nests are closely monitored on all Florida beaches.
Sea turtles are among the oldest creatures on earth and have remained essentially unchanged for 110 million years. Three species—loggerhead, green, and leatherback—nest on the beaches of Martin County.
Once a nest is established, hatchlings emerge at night roughly 50 to 65 days later. They have an inbred tendency to move toward the brightest light. Without the interference of artificial light at night, the brightest direction is toward the moon over the ocean. Once they make it to the shore, they spend the next 5 years in the water.
Atlantic Coast timeline
The last display we saw in the basement of the House of Refuge was this timeline of who lived along the coast, when they lived here, and how they lived here. I found this so interesting that I wanted to share it with you because it shows how peoples change over the years when life gets easier.
Hunter-gathers migrated in small groups to hunt large animals in a cooler and drier climate.
As the climate warmed and glaciers melted, those living here didn’t have to travel as much to get what they needed for food, etc. Animals were smaller.
As life got easier, people stayed more sedentary and had more tools to use for getting their food.
Population increased so that small villages were formed. People had more contact with other cultures. Food sources were from the water, and pottery was developed.
As villages became more permanent, the communities developed complex political systems and religious practices. Trade increased with other groups of people.
Large towns brought about the “need” for chiefs and religious leaders. They started eating vegetables rather than meat they killed or food from the sea, probably because they had already killed the small animals around them and fished the waters. Since they were more sedentary, they had time to plant crops wait for them to grow. Pottery became highly decorated. Europeans came to what we know of as Florida.
Jonathan Dickerson (love the state park that’s been named after him) was shipwrecked off of Jupiter Island in 1696. More ships were lost at sea because of the fierce storms.
Epidemics and warfare decimated the Native American population. The Creeks (Seminoles) came to Florida from areas north of Florida. Florida becomes a U.S. territory, Seminole wars went on for years, settlers arrive, Florida becomes a state, House of Refuge established, and the first homestead in Martin County was built by future keeper, Hubert Bessey.
War changes the House of Refuge, it’s decommissioned and purchased by Martin County before listed as an Historic Place, restoration begins, and it gets direct hits from hurricanes Frances and Jeanne in 2004.
We loved learning about the Houses of Refuge and are so glad that Martin County saw the benefit of supporting this historic place.
