1/06/2010

DADE COUNTY’S OLDEST HOME BUILT IN 1891





On 40 acres of bay front land purchased in 1886 for $400 and a sailboat valued at $400, Ralph Munroe, a yacht designer, first built a boathouse with upstairs living quarters in 1887.  The main house was completed in 1981, 1-story, on wood pilings.  The central room of the bungalow was octagonal in shape.  

This period in time was called The Era of the Bay.  Location is in Coconut Grove, Barnacle State Park, on the shore of Biscayne Bay. Munroe was a seaman, civic activist, naturalist and photographer who cherished the natural world around him.  Walking in the park you pass through a tropical hardwood hammock.  Sit and rock in serenity and beauty on the spacious porch or under a tree.

In 1908 the structure was lifted and a new first floor inserted below.  The hurricanes of 1926 caused damage and Andrew in 1992 caused minimal damage.

For more information see  http://www.floridastateparks.org/TheBarnacle/.

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