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Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park
State Park Information
State Park Overview
Camping
Trails
Picnicking
The park has 18 picnic pavilions that may be reserved up to one day in advance by paying the required fee at the park entrance station. All visitors attending a picnic or party are still required to pay the park entry fee. The rental fees are as follows
We have 15 pavilions with 6 picnic tables that accommodate 40 people. These rent for $100.00 plus tax per day.
We have 3 large pavilions with 10 tables that accommodate 80 people. These rent for $150.00 plus tax per day.
Electricity is available for $15.00 per day, only at the large shelters.
There is a $50.00 cleaning fee that may be assessed if the shelter and immediate vicinity is not cleaned prior to the group leaving. The group is responsible for leaving the pavilion and grounds in the same condition as it was when received.
Boating
You may launch a canoe from No Name Harbor by lowering it off the sea wall. There is no boat launch ramp. You must portage your canoe by hand from the parking lot at Boaters Grill to the sea wall in front of the restaurant. You may not land your canoe on the beach, or tie up to the fishing platforms anywhere in the park.
Swimming
Fishing and Hunting
History of the Area
When Ponce de Leon led the first Spanish expedition in 1513 to the land he called Florida, he visited this area and named it the "Cape of Florida." It was an area of ferocious storms and uncharted waters. Hidden sandbars and submerged reefs, were a hazard to early sailors, causing hundreds of shipwrecks along the Straits of Florida. For this reason, one of the federal government?s first actions when Florida became a U.S. Territory in 1821, was to plan for the extension of a network of lighthouses along the east coast of Florida.
In 1825, the Cape Florida Lighthouse was built to serve as an important link in this network of navigational aids. The lighthouse is the oldest building in south Florida. With the outbreak of the Second Seminole War in 1835, bloody encounters between the Seminole Indians and settlers to the area spread throughout the peninsula. By July of 1836, the threat of attack had caused the settlers to flee the mainland and take up temporary residence on one of the better protected keys to the south.
Late in the afternoon of July 23, 1836, the Cape Florida Lighthouse was attacked and severely damaged by fire. The Assistant Lighthouse Keeper miraculously survived and was rescued by the crew of a Navy schooner. His helper, however, was killed. The lighthouse remained out of service for the balance of the Second Seminole War which ended in 1842.
By 1846, Congress had appropriated $23,000 for reconstruction of the lighthouse. On April 30, 1847, Cape Florida Lighthouse was "re-lit" for the first time. In 1855, the height of the structure was increased from 65 to 95 feet and a 2nd Order Fresnel lens was installed. In 1861, Confederate sympathizers removed the lamps and burners and smashed the crucial center prism so it could not be used as an aid to Union sailors who controlled the surrounding waters. The lighthouse was repaired and re-lit again in 1866.
Finally, when nearby Fowey Rocks Light was placed into service in 1878, the lens and illuminating apparatus atop the lighthouse were removed and shipped to Staten Island, NY. One hundred years later, on July 4, 1978, the light was reinstalled by the U. S. Coast Guard to again serve as a navigational aid.
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