The Ponce
de Leon Inlet Lighthouse
The Owsley Tidepool
Old Florida
Mosquito Inlet
Just south of Ormond and Daytona where Spruce Creek intersects the Halifax River and the Halifax meets the ocean and the Indian River is Mosquito Inlet, now known as Ponce de Leon Inlet. The Inlet was founded originally by Ponce de Leon in 1513 who called the body of water Rio de La Cruz (the cross). Later Captain Antonio de Prado in 1569 named the inlet "los Mosquitos".
In the lower Spruce Creek basin is the remains of an extensive sand and shell burial mound thought to be the site of the Indian settlement Caparaca.
The Mosquito Inlet and Lagoon marshes are vegetated with Salicornia spp. (glasswort), Batis maritima (saltwort) and Distichlis spicata, with occasional Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) and Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove).
Goods from the early Halifax plantations were loaded in barrels and transported on boats down the Halifax to Ponce Inlet where they were transferred to waiting ocean-going vessels. But landing goods at this inlet was extremely hazardous due to the nearby sand bars, eractic strong tidal currents, frequent storms, and the large reefs just to the south, and the inlet soon became known for its shipwrecks and its bounty of goods, everything from building supplies to sewing machines to clothing, that washed ashore that many early settlers counted on to help sustain their existence. Over 100 ships have been lost in this area and close to 500 have run aground.
One of the best recounted tales was the wreck of a Central American Schooner in September of 1878 that blanketed the beaches with 125,000 coconuts.
In 1834 a light house was constructed on the south side of the inlet. The tower reached forty five feet and its beacon was provided by 15 lanterns This first attempt little less than two years later collapsed unable to stand the pounding surf and strong gales. During the Second Seminole War, one of the early Halifax plantation owners James Ormond, wrote that the Seminoles were led by Coacoochee (Wildcat) who was wearing the reflectors from "the Mosquito Bar Light House as a headdress."
Then in the 1880s a second light house was constructed on the north side of the inlet. It included three cottages for the keepers. The 175 foot light house the second tallest on the east coast was said to emit a light that was visible out to sea for twenty nautical miles. In order to light the lantern one had to climb 203 steps. But the project was more costly than envisioned. Ten schooners bringing supplies were wrecked and 6 men drowned.
Mosquito Inlet and its treacherous waters became the backdrop for Stephen Crane's short story The Open Boat after he almost lost his life in a shipwreck off Daytona Beach in 1896.
In 1926 the inlet's name was changed to Ponce De Leon to attract land buyers.
(from Borders
of Paradise edited by Dana Ste. Claire published in 1995,Florida's Past by Gene
Burnett published in 1991, Guide to Florida Lighthouses by Elinor De Wire
published in 1887, The Open Boat by Stephen Crane written in 1897, Mosquito Lagoon ,Ponce De Leon Inlet History and The Ponce de Leon Inlet
Lighthouse )
The Ponce
de Leon Inlet Lighthouse
Copyright © Milancie Hill Adams 1998
