THINGS TO DO IN JUPITER – 5 WAYS TO GO BACK IN TIME
The DuBois’ had three sons and one daughter. All four children were born in the home. They fished, farmed, salvaged and also ran a fishing camp and later a restaurant on the DuBois property.
The kitchen has a refrigerator, sink and stove from the 1930s. Other furniture from that period, such as a dining room table, sewing machine, children’s toys and a “pie-safe” — a wooden bureau to store food — is on display. A donated quilt on the wall depicts the DuBois family tree and family photos.
Neil (1904-1990) ran the bee-keeping business — a very lucrative industry back then.
Your six-mile voyage on the Loxahatchee River to the Jupiter Inlet relives the weekly trip for supplies taken by the Legend of the Loxahatchee in the early 1930s.
You’ll nose through ribbon-like channels, some just six feet wide. Snook, deer, great blue herons and ‘gators are regular visitors.
“The adventure is from the source to the sea. Paddlers will go through the source – the Loxahatchee River – and view cypress swamps, alligators and otters. Then they will get to the sea – the Atlantic Ocean – after paddling through coastal estuaries with mangroves and manatees,” said Jupiter Outdoor Center owner Rick Clegg.
You’ll pass orchids, cypress knees and Spanish Moss as you paddle to and from the swamp-surrounded homestead Trapper set up when he was just 23. Skinning ‘gators, selling furs, trapping animals, running a zoo and growing citrus kept the blue-eyed New Jersey native busy for 35 years.
So did entertaining Hollywood celebrities and the local gentry from Jupiter Island and Palm Beach.
Grab your SCUBA gear, head a short boat trip off Jupiter’s coast and splash — you are back in the days of pirates.
Three neighbouring wrecks are close and shallow enough to be explored in one dive — the Zion Train, Miss Jenny and Esso Bonaire, all about in water maybe 80 feet deep.
GPS MAP OF PALM BEACH COUNTY SHIPWRECKS
Then there’s the San Miguel Arcangel — thought to have wrecked along the Jupiter coast in 1659 or 1660 while trying to enter the inlet during a storm. The ship was an aviso, or Spanish courier ship, that primarily was used to deliver correspondence to and from the Spanish throne.
And there’s a bonus — incredible sea life!
The clear waters are teeming with schools of fish, sea turtles and sharks. Through August-September, huge Goliath Groupers gather around the wrecks.
East is the beautiful Jupiter Inlet, where in July 1940, the U.S. Navy’s Radio Detection Finding Station, known as “Station J”, came online. This secret installation was designed to intercept German U-boat radio messages, warn Allied ships and help US forces attack enemy vessels.
Next stop – Jupiter! Then Mars! Then Venus!
No, that’s not dialogue from a Star Trek episode. Its the conductor on the Celestial Railroad, the Jupiter and Lake Worth Railway began operation on July 4, 1889 and chugged along for about six years.
The railway ran about seven miles from the Jupiter Inlet to Juno, which was then the Dade County seat at the north end of Lake Worth.
Since there was no turnaround, the train steamed forward to Juno and in reverse to Jupiter. The engineer played “Dixie” on the wood-burning steam engine whistle to alert awaiting passengers.
The railroad’s name was changed after a magazine article called it the “Celestial Railroad,” noting the train had stops called Jupiter, Mars, Juno and Venus for coconuts, citrus and other locally grown crops.
Henry Flagler used the railway to haul lumber and supplies to build the Royal Poinciana Hotel on Palm Beach.
NEED SOME HELP PLANNING YOUR TRIP?
Just ask Jupiter Outdoor Center.
JOC guides will give you free trip planning to make your adventure safe and fun. Moonlight tours, bicycle and paddle tours, mangrove tours, Jupiter Inlet waterway tours, and birthday tours – we’ll take a tour to fit your needs.
Call JOC at 561-747-0063 or go to jupiteroutdoorcenter.com.
JOC is open 365 days a year at Riverbend Park in Jupiter.