Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park
You can experience history firsthand this Saturday, December 22, at the Loxahatchee River Battlefield where a tour will be given of the actual battlegrounds of 1838 Battle of the Loxahatchee. The Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park is located at 9060 Indiantown Road Jupiter, FL 33478.
The Battle Of Jupiter Inlet
Renewed interest in the Second Seminole War (1835‐1842), was heightened when archeologists uncovered conclusive factual evidence that confirmed the location of the Battle of the Loxahatchee at Riverbend Park in West Jupiter. More than 163 years ago on that plot of land near the headwaters of the Loxahatchee River, Red and Black Seminoles fought U.S. soldiers. The Battle of the Loxahatchee took place on Jan. 24, 1838. A historical battlefield in our midst? "No one had a clue that the Seminole Wars were fought in Jupiter 160 years ago," said resident archaeologist Richard Procyk.
Background
when Palm Beach County purchased the land in west Jupiter that is now called Riverbend Park, officials were unaware of its historical importance. Archaeologists hired in the early 1990s uncovered evidence of two 19th century Seminole villages, and of the two Battles of the Loxahatchee, the only battles known to have been fought in Palm Beach County.
On January 15, 1838, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Levin M. Powell led 75 army and navy troops against 50 to 60 Seminoles. Nine days later, Major General Thomas Jesup brought 1,500 troops against 100 to 300 Seminoles. Although little known, these battles ended the organized resistance of the Seminoles during the Second Seminole War. After the second battle, Jesup’s troops built Fort Jupiter on a point of land in the Loxahatchee River now called Pennock Point, about three miles west of the Jupiter Inlet. Fort Jupiter closed in 1842, reopened in the 1850s during the Third Seminole War, and closed for good when that war ended.
The Loxahatchee Battlefield Park
To protect and safeguard the Loxahatchee Battlefield Park located in Jupiter, Florida, along with the area’s 6,000-year-old prehistoric Native American occupation. Click here for more information.
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