The very first time we tried RV life, we rented one and drove it south to see our Florida family. We stayed at Jonathan Dickinson State Park and thoroughly enjoyed our time there and with our family. While hiking around the park, we saw this sign about Camp Murphy, a WWII camp, that was based on this land, but didn’t have time to explore its history. On this trip to Florida, we decided to investigate what this camp was all about. But of course, we saw so much more than this just history.
These are some of the views of Camp Murphy that we can see today.
So let’s learn about Camp Murphy.
This location was once home to a top-secret radar training school. Radar technology was just beginning, and the men who trained here were sent out around the world. The camp was built quickly in 1942 and was heavily camouflaged for fear of enemy attack.
From the brochure we found at the park information center: “Camp Murphy functioned as the first training post built under a plan adopted by the War Department for ‘dispersed layout’ or ‘theaters of war’ construction. The native foliage of the Everglades and extensive replanting of bamboo, southern pine, palmetto and other tropical vegetation effectively camouflaged the near 1000 school and camp buildings, most of which were located between U.S. Highway 1 and the Florida East Coast Railway [built by Henry Flagler that we’ll learn about in the next 2 posts]. The camp became home to 854 officers and 5752 enlisted men.”
When the camp was deactivated in 1944, most of the buildings were torn down, but as we’ve seen, some of the foundations are still obvious.
The post was named in honor of Col. William H. Murphy, one of the early pioneers who developed radio beams and the necessary equipment used in military aircraft.
Originally the Army’s Signal Corps School was situated in Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. When more space was need for the school, it was moved to Florida when it became the home of the Southern Signal Corps School (SSCS).
Instruction also included a course for radar operations on ground equipment and a basic radio repairman’s course as preparation for radar training. Both ground and airborne radar equipment was used.
Originally the post’s mission was to teach radar maintenance to officers and enlisted personnel of the Coast Artillery Corps.
The camp covered 11,364 acres with almost 1000 structures that supported 854 officers and 5752 enlisted men.
As the war wound down by the summer of 1944, the need for radar maintenance personnel, especially in Europe, had been reduced. The school was moved back to the Fort Monmouth facility in New Jersey.
Hobe Mountain
Since most of Southern Florida is flat, one of the distinctive features of the state park is Hobe Mountain.
Plants began to grow to form the Sand Pine Scrub that we’ll see soon that have adapted to the desert-like environment. Here’s some more information about the ancient beach dunes. Yes, the picture is blurry, but it’s because I’ve cropped a larger sign.
Since the plants and animals that are here now were cut off from others of their kind for millennia, they have adapted in unique ways.
These tortoise play an important role in the ecosystem. Their burrows are dug deep and provide shelter for others when needed. The park ranger called them landlords, because their homes provide protection during storms.
time for food and learning – Kimble Center
After walking around just this small area of the park, we got hungry so went to the food cart by the river; really good French fries! When we went over to Kimble Center to learn more about what we were seeing.
Outside of the center was information about the different areas of the park.
The park has wildlife in 16 natural communities, including pine flatwoods, mangroves, river swamps, and more than 3000 acres of scrub and scrubby flatwoods. What we see in Florida scrub is so special that we can’t see it anywhere else on the Earth. This park protects one of the last remaining strands scrubs in southeast Florida.
Today, land mangers use prescribed burns to replicate the effects of fire in natural areas. These fires benefit plants and wildlife and reduce the threat of catastrophic wildflowers.
natural communities in the park
The following sign says that the park is home to 15 natural communities; their differences are based on the plants and wildlife that live there.
Scrub takes up 20% of the land here and occurs on ridges that have well-drained sandy soil.
Tidal swamp lines the banks of the Loxahatchee River downriver from Kitching Creek. Mangroves are a defining characteristic of this natural community (the following picture on the left) since they thrive in the salt content of the brackish water. Their roots prevent bank erosion by trapping soils and serve as nurseries for many aquatic species.
Pine flatwoods are the most abundant natural communities in the park.
Wet prairie is found in patches throughout the wet flatwoods. These treeless wetlands hold water through the year and are home to various wading birds, reptiles, and amphibians.
Floodplain swamp is found along the banks of the Loxahatchee River, beginning upriver of Kitching Creek.
inside the center – more history
We’ve already seen the center’s information about Camp Murphy, but so much more history is covered here.
The history of people in this area dates back as far as 5000 B.C., when indigenous peoples lived in southeastern Florida. They left bone, stone, and shell artifacts for us to find, as well as evidence of a network of trade along the Loxahatchee River.
In 1696, the barkentine sailing ship Reformation (Britannia says this schooner had three or more masts with fore-and-aft sails on all but the front mast (foremast), and is square rigged) that sailed from Jamaica to Philadelphia. It was driven ashore in a heavy storm and wrecked on Jupiter Island, several miles south of Stuart where we are camping.
They were held captive at a village for several days, during which Dickinson was able to observe the natives’ lives, rituals and customs.
Dickinson and his companions were finally released to continue their trip northward to St. Augustine. While 5 of the party died of exposure and exhaustion on the journey up the beach (they no longer had a boat), Dickinson’s infant son miraculously survived the ordeal. Dickinson recorded in his journal the first meaningful description of the Native Americans of this area.
Seminoles
By the early 1700s, other tribes were encouraged by the Spanish to come to Florida to offset the political power of the English further north. Eventually the whites came to know them as “Seminoles.”
White settlers wanted the land and tried to oust the Seminoles under the 1830 Indian Removal Act. Warriors, including escaped slaves known as “Black Seminoles,” hid their families in the woods and swamps and began guerrilla warfare tactics against the U.S.
I guess the idea of Betrayal (part of the title in the previous picture) was that the Indian Removal Act meant that the system of reservations for Indians wasn’t going to work.
In January 1838, American soldiers fought the Seminole Indians on the banks of the Loxahatchee River in 2 battles that were 9 days apart. On January 24, in the 2nd battle that is known as the Battle of Loxahatchee, General Jessup and his 1500 soldiers fought about 300 Seminoles. The Army lost 7 soldiers and had 31 wounded, including Jessup, whose eyeglasses were shot from his face. Seminole losses were unknown since their custom was to carry off their dead and wounded.
This was the last battle of the Second Seminole War, and was the longest, bloodiest, and costliest of the Indian Wars ever found in America.
Trapper Nelson
In the 1930s, Vincent Natulkiewicz, aka Trapper Nelson, set up his camp deep in a wooden area along the Loxahatchee River. It’s about 5 miles west of US 1 in our state park.
He became known as the “Wildman of the Loxahatchee.” His size, 6’4″ tall and 240 pounds, added to his mystique. For most of his life he was a loner, selling animal hides and eating raccoons, gopher tortoises, fish, and fruit from his extensive plantings. His profits went toward buying more land until he had over 1000 acres along the shores.
After the war, Trapper was “discovered” and became an attraction. Along with average folks, movie stars like Gary Cooper flocked to meet him, see his zoo of captive wildlife, and watch him wrestle alligators.
His death came in 1968 from a gunshot wound to the chest; while it could have been a suicide, the death has remained a topic of gossip and speculation. Before he died, Trapper had started negotiations with the state to preserve his land along the river; the state completed these negotiations, and we’re the beneficiaries.
Want to see more about this interesting man? On our 2020 Florida family trip we went to his homestead. Click here to go to that post; it’s really interesting.
our camping sites
While driving around, we visited our very first campsite. Here’s what it looked like in April 2017.
Here’s what the same campsite looks like today.
Hope you can enjoy this park some time in your travels. Now on to Palm Beach and the Flagler Museum.
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