On their northward journey along the Atlantic coast, the Expedition party spent time at the House of Refuge at New River Inlet near Fort Lauderdale. They stopped there briefly on April 12 while sailing north on the schooner "Margaret." They had to turn back because of bad weather and ended up staying at the House of Refuge on April 13 before resuming their northward journey on the 14th. The U.S. Life-Saving Service, a federal government agency, operated a series of houses of refuge and life saving stations along U.S. coasts to rescue and shelter shipwrecked sailors and passengers. It began in 1848 and ultimately merged into the U.S. Coast Guard in 1915. Five houses of refuge were constructed on Florida's east coast in 1876 and another five were added in 1885-1886, along with two life saving stations. The House of Refuge No. 4 at Fort Lauderdale was located on a barrier island four miles north of the New River Inlet. It operated from 1876 to 1914 when it began to operate as a U.S. Coast Guard station. The keeper at the time of the party's visit was Dennis O’Neill, who served as keeper from 1888-1894. The refuge houses had cots for visitors.
Links below open in a new browser window.
For other topics referenced in the Expedition texts, please refer to the Index to Subjects and Names.
1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition : Three Digital Texts, 2015