Imagine sailing on a ship along the desolate Florida East Coast when a violent storm hits and your boat sinks or perhaps your boat hit a reef and sank. Imagine swimming to shore where you are greeted with nothing but undeveloped scrubland as far as the eye can see with no source of food or fresh water in sight. Imagine roasting under the hot Florida sun with the sand fleas and mosquitos making a meal of you! Sure sounds like a chapter out of the pages of Robinson Crusoe!

Many shipwreck survivors made it to shore but perished of starvation and thirst on the sparsely populated land. At least that was the case until the United State Life Saving Service (in 1915, this organization became the U.S. Coast Guard) built ten Houses of Refuge between the years of 1876 and 1886. Located about 15 to 20 miles apart along the Atlantic coast between Key Biscayne and what is now Daytona Beach, these dwellings served as havens for shipwrecked sailors, each manned by a single keeper and his family. Each house was identical, all had wrap around porches, living quarters on the first floor, and a large second story room with cots and supplies to accommodate 20 shipwreck victims for two weeks. After each storm, the keepers of each House of Refuge would patrol the coastline searching for survivors, offering them shelter, food and water.

This YouTube video gives a brief overview of the history of the House of Refuge.

Only one House of Refuge remains and thanks to a recommendation by the volunteers at the Stuart Heritage Museum, we had an opportunity to visit the House of Refuge Museum at Gilbert’s Bar in Stuart. The museum, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, is located at the southern end of Hutchinson Island just across the Indian River Lagoon from Stuart and the oldest structure in Martin County. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, children 6 – 12 are $5, under 6 are free. Today it is a popular wedding venue!

Note there is another museum, the Elliott Museum, which offers history exhibits, temporary exhibits and a variety of collections to include vintage cars, baseball, artwork, Americana, and more. Visitors can purchase tickets for each museum independently or as a combo package. By the way, they offer a free shuttle service from the Elliott Museum to the House of Refuge between 11:00 a.m. and 2:45 p.m. We only had time for the House of Refuge Museum at Gilbert’s Bar.

Today their website states that guided tours are only available for groups of 10 or more that have to be scheduled ahead of time but when we went there in December of 2023, they offered guided tours by a docent.

When we arrived shortly after noon time, the volunteers were in a little bit of chaos as they had lost electricity earlier in the day. Although the problem was being worked on, they weren’t sure how long it would be out. Usually visitors start the tour by watching a video but due to the electrical issue, we were told to begin the tour and plan on watching the video later once the electricity was restored. The volunteer docent was excellent, escorting us through each room in the house, explaining the history in detail. How fascinating!

It was named Gilbert’s Bar after the ruthless pirate, Don Pedro Gilbert, who hid in protected coves/lagoons and lured unsuspecting vessels in with fake distress signals. When the merchant ships would come to help, they would crash into the shallow waters or would be ambushed by the pirates. Pedro was eventually caught and hung in 1835. Even though his piracy ended, his legend still lives on.

Shipwrecks were common in this area not only because of Pedro’s piracy but also  because of the St. Lucie Rocks, an outcropping of Anastasia formation. Formed from the extensive deposit of coquina rock found along east coast of Florida, the rock is a mass of more or less water-worn shells, which are cemented to form a firm rock. Ships would often crash into these rocks especially after being blown off course during storms.

Actually over the centuries so many ships with its precious cargo sank along the Atlantic coast, the area earned the nickname “the Treasure Coast.” Eleven ships sank in the 1715 hurricane alone.

Speaking of hurricanes, the most famous shipwreck that occurred near the House of Refuge happened in October, 1904 when a hurricane blew the Georges Valentine, an Italian brigantine all the way from Havana, Cuba, to the Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge, where it smashed into the rocks, killing five on board, seven men were rescued. The shipwreck has become an underwater archaeological site located 100 feet right off of the Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge. Visitors can snorkel or dive to the site. And believe it or not, another shipwreck occurred within 24 hours and three miles north of the Georges Valentine. Luckily fifteen of the sixteen crew members of the Spanish ship, the Cosme Calzado survived and joined the seven survivors of the Georges Valentine in the House of Refuge.

In 1915, the United State Life Saving Service merged with the U.S. Revenue Cutter Service to form the U.S. Coast Guard, and then the House of Refuge became U.S. Coast Guard Station #207. During World War II, the outside wooden tower, which is no longer open to visitors, was used as an important lookout for German U-Boats. In 1945, the Coast Guard decommissioned the station. After that, it sat abandoned and empty on the beach for eight years when the county purchased it along with 16.8 acres of beachfront land as government surplus. That entire parcel cost $168!

In addition to serving as a museum, the House of Refuge soon became a refuge for sea turtles from 1963 to 1987.

Wow, this museum was incredibly interesting! There were rooms that showed the living quarters of the Keeper and family, other rooms were filled with displays of information about the history of the house, photos of the Keepers, articles about the shipwrecks, the life saving equipment that was used to rescue sailors….the list goes on and on. We took a lot of photos which would be best to view in our album. Or better yet, check out this video which highlights many of the displays that were taken by another visitor several years ago.

So glad we had the opportunity to visit this historic landmark! It was well worth the time!