Jensen Beach Wreck?

[barney]

Is anyone familiar with the "Jensen Beach Wreck"?
I saw a porthole that was recovered from this wreck and was wondering if this the local name for the COSME CALZADA, a 200 foot long sailing ship that sunk in 1904? The person who recovered it said the wreck was directly off the Windmill Restaurant (?), but that it had boilers. Not sure if I got confused in the details as lots of topics and wrecks were discussed...
Anyway, just trying to find out the identity of this wreck?
Thanks,
Mike

 

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[mad4wrecks]

ask Weller. I think he told me about this very same wreck years ago....I remember the Windmill Restaurant part

 

[barney]

ask Weller. I think he told me about this very same wreck years ago....I remember the Windmill Restaurant part

That's who told me and where I saw the porthole

 

[billinstuart]

Barney..you got mail.

 

[barney]

Does anyone know where the Windmill restaurant is/was located (address)?

Another (better) possible suspect I dug up might be the steamer AMERICA which wrecked in 1885 approximately 8 miles north of the House of Refuge.

 

[billinstuart]

got yer message. The wreck I found is just north of the old "Fairway" restaurant, and is approx. 8 miles north of the house of refuge. There IS a wreck off Vero that has a boiler exposed at low tide...right off of Art McKees place.

 

[billinstuart]

Just measured the distance..a little over 8 miles north of the House of Refuge. Where did you find info on the "america"?

 

[inletsurf]

There IS a wreck off Vero that has a boiler exposed at low tide...right off of Art McKees place.

The Breconshire?

 

[mad4wrecks]

Yes, the Breconshire is the wreck Bill was referring to, although I am not sure how Art Mckee fits into that locality?

There is also one about 3 miles north of Ft Pierce Inlet, called the Stella, but known locally as the "beehive boiler wreck."....vVery close to shore and not much to see there.

 

[billinstuart]

OK..I guess I brought up McKee because that is the only restaurant I can think of that is associated with a wreck. However, it is a long way from Jensen Beach. Jensen Beach has no restaurants on the ocean at present. There are also no known wrecks of ANY consequence off of Jensen Beach. Can't find any reference to a "Windmill" anywhere in Jensen either. I can only assume there was some confusion about the names both ending in "Beach"?

In the 1800's Ft. Pierce Inlet was about 2-3 miles north of its' present location, near the SEAL museum. A mile or two north of that was a restaurant that was destroyed in the recent hurricanes. Could THAT be a possibility?

I did find the keel of a iron bolt fastened ship on the beach about 8 miles north of the House of Refuge after a recent hurricane. This construction would be consistent with a late 19th century ship. No one locally knows anything about it. I can't find any reference to the name "America", or any reference to that particular location (8 miles north) at all.

Barney, can you please provide more info??

 

[mad4wrecks]

In the 1800's Ft. Pierce Inlet was about 2-3 miles north of its' present location, near the SEAL museum. A mile or two north of that was a restaurant that was destroyed in the recent hurricanes. Could THAT be a possibility?


Wow, Bill, you have a good memory. There is something offshore of that old restaurant location.....but I can't say what it might be.

 

[riobravo]

In the 1800's Ft. Pierce Inlet was about 2-3 miles north of its' present location, near the SEAL museum. A mile or two north of that was a restaurant that was destroyed in the recent hurricanes. Could THAT be a possibility?


Wow, Bill, you have a good memory. There is something offshore of that old restaurant location.....but I can't say what it might be.

i know the area well, the remaining concrete pad is where used to go to keep an eye on our admiralty, although they have a fence up now so i go a little to the north and walk out from the park , and i thought everyone knew about the..................

 

[barney]

I did find the keel of a iron bolt fastened ship on the beach about 8 miles north of the House of Refuge after a recent hurricane. This construction would be consistent with a late 19th century ship. No one locally knows anything about it. I can't find any reference to the name "America", or any reference to that particular location (8 miles north) at all.

Barney, can you please provide more info??

Sure. Here is some draft text from a pending book project...

Built in April 1863 by S. Gildersleeve Company of Portland, Connecticut, the wooden-hulled screw steamer America was 166 feet in length and 31.8 feet in breadth. While she previously sailed for the Baltimore and Savannah Steamship Company, at the time of her loss the 781-ton second-rate steamer was owned by W.R. Wilson.

In January 1885, the America departed New York, bound for Cuba with a cargo of general freight. Commanded by Captain F.C. Miller, she arrived safely to unload her freight and replace it with a cargo of sugar. On February 7, she departed for Boston. Traveling north, the steamer encountered a winter gale off the Florida coast three days into her return trip. A leak was sprung and the steam pumps were manned, while the America kept on her course. Later in the day, still in the clutches of the storm, Captain Miller discovered that the leak was rapidly gaining on him. Early on the morning of February 11, he turned toward the coast, hoping to beach his vessel. However, rising water soon extinguished the boiler fires and left the vessel powerless and adrift. Fortunately for the crew of the America, the prevailing winds pushed the steamer towards shore. The America’s decks were almost at the water’s edge when the ship grounded on a sandbar just offshore of land. With the vessel’s decks awash and in an unstable sinking condition, the breaking waves steadily pushed the vessel over on her side and proceeded to rip her apart. The crew barely had time to retreat from the vessel, but they managed to work through the breaking surf and safely land on the beach.

But their predicament was far from over. One of the crew summed up their situation: “Our troubles began in earnest after we landed. We had a worse time on land than we did on the sea. ” At the time, the stretch of Florida beach the crew found themselves on was desolate with no settlements in the vicinity. Once the weather improved, they rowed back to sea and worked southward to Jupiter Inlet. Rowing inland, they worked 80 miles down the St. John’s River to Sanford, whereupon Captain Miller abandoned his crew.

Captain Miller testified that they came ashore eight miles from Gilberts Bar House of Refuge, hit shore without sleep for 40 hours, turned the lifeboats over and slept beneath them with the sand flies in wet clothes. Keeper Brown found them and provided food and shelter. Miller sold all salvaged material at a beach auction for $125 to Captain Thomas E. Richards.

The crew managed to beg their way to Jacksonville and eventually secured passage to Savannah. The mayor of Savannah paid for the men’s trip to New York on the steamship City of Augusta, during which the crew shared stories of their adventure with survivors of the Italian bark Vulpini, who were also shipwrecked off Sapelo Island, Georgia, in the same storm.

 

[billinstuart]

Hmmmm..interesting, but gotta couple of questions. Directly across from the site in question were several communities on the west side of the Indian River, easily visible because the beach area is only 1/4 mile wide at that point. Rowing south, they would have passed some signs of civilization, including Jensen Beach and Stuart. The also would have passed the house of Refuge, and been told Stuart was just a couple miles away. Additionally, the Indian River lagoon had alot of boat traffic then. A railroad ran from Sanford to Titusville, and the Indian River was the route used to head south to Stuart from there. Jupiter was just barely accessible by water then from the north. Had they been north they certainly would have seen the Indian River, and rowed north.

Now, 8 miles SOUTH would have been desolate, and south of the end of the Indian river lagoon. There was no development along there at that time. There WAS an active lighthouse at Jupiter, and limited development around it. The railroad hadn't arrived then, coming 10 years later.

There is no water connection from Jupiter to the St. Johns River, which does flow north from Lake Helen Blazes. Until you get to Lake Harney (Near Titusville/Sanford), the St. Johns is essentially just a ditch. Frankly, there isn't a water connection anywhere from the east coast to the St. Johns.

The keel, stem, sternpost I found was iron bolted and pretty substantial. It was also in surprisingly good condition, as if it had been buried in the sand. This is also pretty close to an area that is under lease by the Fisher group..."unidentified wreck". However, I suspect your wreck is SOUTH of the House of Refuge, somewhere near Jupiter Island.

Lemme know your thoughts on this.

Bill

 

[barney]

I am going by available archival information, which obviously does not guarantee it being correct. However, the NY Times article states they landed "eight miles to the northward of Gilbert's Bar, which is above Jupiter Inlet." Other information mentions they landed on a narrow barrier island about 300 yards across, and the potential mistake of rowing back to sea to proceed south almost 30 miles to Jupiter Inlet, versus making a short portage inland and cruising the calm lagoon instead.
I agree, the information about the St. Johns River is confounding. Here is the passage from the article:
"After a short rest they took to their boat again, and succeeded in reaching the St. John's River, by way of Jupiter Inlet. They rowed up the river about 80 miles until they reached a village called Sandford (sic)."
I am not saying this is the Jensen Beach Wreck, just offering it as a potential suspect.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[billinstuart]

Well, that location description is dead on. Perhaps at that time St. Lucie inlet was sanded in, which is very likely, because the present location was hand dug not too long after that. On further thought, I feel they simply rowed/sailed up the Indian River lagoon to Titusville, and boarded the railroad to Sanford. Time and weakness in the information highway have confused the facts. If the had portaged across that 300 yard strip, they would have saved 60 miles of travel.

At that time, all travelers from Jacksonville south took a boat down the St. Johns to either Sanford or Lake Harney, where they boarded a train to Titusville (Sand Point). At Sand Point they boarded shallow draft boats and proceeded south to Stuart, the end of the Indian River Lagoon. Some smaller craft could make the passage to Jupiter, but it was shallow and meandered through the mangroves.

I believe your account is correct, and the location matches exactly. I also believe that history has confused the EXACT return route, substituting the St. Johns for the Indian River. If they returned to Jacksonville, the majority of the trip was up the St. Johns. Having dealt with reporters through the years, I'm well aware of their inability to convey information accurately.

Does this help?

Bill

 

[mad4wrecks]

Here's to reviving an old thread.

An article in The Weekly Times-Democrat (New Orleans) dated March 21, 1885, noted, "The steamship America, wrecked on the Atlantic coast, opposite Eden, has gone to pieces." (Eden is a small community on the WEST shore of the Indian River approx. 7 miles from the House of Refuge) Also in that same area along the beach there is a popular surf spot known as Diamond Sands. One of the local surf rats reported to me a few years ago "there is a wreck there and encrusted anchor chain in 6 feet of water." This area is a little more than 8 miles north of the House of Refuge.

Also, regarding the "keeper Brown," David Brown was appointed keeper of the Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge on Dec. 16, 1881 and resigned on March 25th, 1885.

In 1885 the Gilbert's Bar (or St. Lucie) inlet was not open. The crew rowed south to Jupiter Inlet to gain access to the Indian River. They could have rowed north about 15 miles to the Indian River inlet but there is a southerly nearshore current on this coast and in February they probably had winds blowing from the NNE.

At Jupiter they probably caught a sailboat (or small steamer) for Titusville. At Titusville there was a mule driven hack line operating from there to Enterprise, (the railroad at Titusville did not start until Dec. 27, 1885) across from Sanford on Lake Monroe.

Regards, Tom

 

[Jolly Mon]

http://www.treasurenet.com/forums/shipwrecks/372313-gilberts-reefer-madness.html

 

[A2coins]

wow 6 ft of water thats do able lol

 

[barney]

Here's to reviving an old thread.

An article in The Weekly Times-Democrat (New Orleans) dated March 21, 1885, noted, "The steamship America, wrecked on the Atlantic coast, opposite Eden, has gone to pieces." (Eden is a small community on the WEST shore of the Indian River approx. 7 miles from the House of Refuge) Also in that same area along the beach there is a popular surf spot known as Diamond Sands. One of the local surf rats reported to me a few years ago "there is a wreck there and encrusted anchor chain in 6 feet of water." This area is a little more than 8 miles north of the House of Refuge.

Also, regarding the "keeper Brown," David Brown was appointed keeper of the Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge on Dec. 16, 1881 and resigned on March 25th, 1885.

In 1885 the Gilbert's Bar (or St. Lucie) inlet was not open. The crew rowed south to Jupiter Inlet to gain access to the Indian River. They could have rowed north about 15 miles to the Indian River inlet but there is a southerly nearshore current on this coast and in February they probably had winds blowing from the NNE.

At Jupiter they probably caught a sailboat (or small steamer) for Titusville. At Titusville there was a mule driven hack line operating from there to Enterprise, (the railroad at Titusville did not start until Dec. 27, 1885) across from Sanford on Lake Monroe.

Regards, Tom

Thanks Tom!