Coconut Grove, Florida
Contact Information
3485 Main Highway
Coconut Grove, 33133
(305) 448-9445
Driving Directions
The Barnacle is located in Coconut Grove (Miami)
at 3485 Main Highway.
Hours of Operation
Florida state parks are open from 8 a.m. until
sundown 365 days a year.
Ralph Munroe first visited South Florida in 1877
while on vacation from New York. His next visit
to the area was not as pleasant. In 1881, doctors
told Munroe that his wife Eva and her sister Adeline
suffered from tuberculosis. According to Munroe,
doctors warned that without an absolute change
of climate, they would be incurable.
Munroe immediately thought of beautiful Biscayne
Bay, and at once prepared to take them there.
Despite his efforts, illness took its toll. Eva
passed away at their camp along the bank of the
Miami River. Her sister's death followed and Munroe
was met with the news of the death of his infant
daughter upon his arrival back in New York.
He returned to South Florida in 1882 to visit
the grave of his wife and to help an acquaintance
open a hotel on the shore of Biscayne Bay. First
known as Bay View Villa, the hotel was renamed
Peacock Inn and the establishment had a long and
profitable history.
Ralph Munroe originally purchased 40 acres of
bayfront land in 1886 for $400 and one of his
sailboats, Kingfish, which he valued at an additional
$400. His boathouse was built in 1887 and Munroe
lived in its upper floor until he had his main
house built in 1891. The house was a one-story
structure which was raised off the ground on wood
pilings. Its central room was octagonal in shape
and Munroe came to call his home the "Barnacle."
It remained a bungalow until more space was needed
in 1908. At that time the whole structure, as
it stood, was lifted and a new first floor inserted
below. The Barnacle house survived the disastrous
hurricane of 1926 and Hurricane Andrew in 1992
with only minimal damage.
Ralph Munroe's principal zest in life was designing
yachts. Boats were a major form of transportation
in the early days and yachting was a popular sport.
Many South Florida pioneers commissioned Munroe
to design their yachts. In 1887, a group of residents
formed the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. They elected
Ralph Munroe as Commodore, a title he held for
22 years. In his lifetime, the Commodore drew
plans for 56 different boats. Micco, the last
of Munroe's boats in existence, was displayed
here until Hurricane Andrew's impact reduced the
101-year-old vessel to fragments. Egret, a replica
of Munroe's 28-foot modified sharpie, is now moored
offshore. The fall of 1894 marked the beginning
of Ralph Munroe's new family. He met Miss Jessie
Wirth while on a cruise with friends. They were
married that spring, the beginning of along and
happy home life at the Barnacle. In 1900, Jessie
gave birth to a daughter, Patty. Patty was followed
two years later by her brother Wirth. The family
took frequent cruises on the Bay and the children
learned to sail at a very early age.
With the Florida Reef lining the southeast coast,
ships frequently ran aground. Many people in the
area made a living by salvaging these ships -
a profession called wrecking. This was one of
Ralph Munroe's most adventurous endeavors. Before
his time, wrecking activities were often carried
out by pirates and buccaneers. Munroe's wrecking
days were honorable. There were formal contracts
between wrecking companies and underwriters. Work
was performed by divers, steam winches, pumps,
barges, tugs and other modern equipment of the
era. When on a tour of the Barnacle, you will
see some remnants of Munroe's wrecking ventures.
As you walk into this historic site from busy
Main Highway, you are surrounded by a forest called
a tropical hardwood hammock. In the 1920s it was
a representative example of the original landscape
within the limits of Miami. Today, it is one of
the last places where one can see a remnant of
the once vast "Miami Hammock." Commodore
Munroe preserved the original hammock between
the road and the Barnacle, cutting out only a
winding buggy trail barely wide enough for one
vehicle. As a result, the forest contains many
old trees and appears much as it did in Munroe's
day.
As a historian, naturalist and photographer,
Commodore Munroe was a man far ahead of his time.
His home, the Barnacle, reflects the image of
a simpler time in South Florida's past. His property,
home and its contents easily depict a lifestyle
that exists no more. Enjoy your visit to this
special part of the Real Florida's past.
