History

DELIVERING THE MAIL

A century ago, South Florida was not the bustling metropolis it is today. As late as 1885, there were no roads or railways connecting the east coast of Florida from Jupiter (about 15 miles north of Palm Beach) to Miami. In fact, to send a letter from one of the settlements along the shores of Lake Worth (populated by pioneer farmers and settlers moving south for health reasons) to Miami, the letter had to travel by boat to Jacksonville, by rail to Cedar Key (just north of Tampa on Florida's west coast), by steamer to Key West, and by schooner to Biscayne Bay, where the mail parcel was unceremoniously thrown overboard to be retrieved by a smaller vessel and brought ashore. The communication lines between Jupiter and Miami were greatly expanded with the establishment of the Star Mail Route in 1885. E. R. Bradley was commissioned to take the mail by rowboat from the West Palm Beach terminus of the Celestial Railroad to Hypoluxo, then by foot along the beaches for the 60 miles to Miami -- a trip which took six days to travel round-trip. The US Government formally established the Hypoluxo Post Office in 1886, hiring Andrew Garnett (a Kentucky farmer who had settled in the area a year earlier) as postmaster. The Star Route was not a kind one. In fact, in 1887 it claimed the life of the second "barefoot mailman" (a term coined by Theodore Pratt), James Edward Hamilton, when he drowned while swimming the Hillsboro Inlet to retrieve his skiff that had been moved. It is believed that Hamilton was attacked by sharks or alligators. The danger, however, did not stop school board members, county commissioners, and would-be jurors from joining the mailman on the route, each paying $5 for delaying the mail due to the extra weight in the boat and their lack of experience as hikers. After Hamilton's death, Garnett took over the route until a rail line was established in 1893 connecting Lantana and Lemon City. The post office, however, continued operating until 1954.