Photo & Bio from Wikipedia
Munroe was born to Thomas and Ellen Middleton Munroe at their family home on 22nd Street near 4th Avenue in New York City on April 3rd, 1851. In 1854, the Munroe family moved to Staten Island where Munroe spent his childhood. Growing up near the sea, he became fascinated with the boats that were essential to island life. While a student at Eagleswood Military Academy , near Perth Amboy, New Jersey from 1861 to 1864, he purchased the "Hornet," for a mere $2.00, the first of many boats he was to own.
After briefly attending Columbia University in New York City, Munroe participated in a number of lucrative business ventures as well as yachting adventures. In 1874, he encountered William Brickell off of the coast of Staten Island; a meeting which would change his life. It was from him that Munroe learned more of Biscayne Bay, which he visited for the first time in 1877.
At 28 years of age, Munroe married Eva Amelia Hewitt in 1879 and established his permanent home at Great Kills, Staten Island. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Edith Munroe. The joy of his daughter's birth was met with tragedy, however. Within the next few months, Eva contracted tuberculosis and in the hopes of recovery, Munroe brought Eva; her sister, Adeline, also tubercular; and their brother to Biscayne Bay. His daughter Edith died in her grandmother's care shortly after their departure. Eva died in April 1882. A devastated Munroe soon returned to Staten Island.
Between the years of 1882 and 1886, Munroe returned several times to Biscayne Bay, spending winters with Charles and Isabella Peacock, who were then building the Bay View House, Dade County's first hotel, later renamed the Peacock Inn. He returned to summer in Staten Island each year. Finally, in 1886, Munroe decided to make Cocoanut Grove his permanent home and purchased the future site of The Barnacle Historic State Park, which was at the time 40 acres (160,000 m2) of bay front property. He paid $400 in cash in addition to one of his yachts, the Kingfish, which he valued at an additional $400. Two years later, in 1888, he sold his home in Staten Island to remain year round in Coconut Grove.5
With his new home began a new life. Munroe built his boathouse directly on the bay in 1887 with living quarters on upper floor and a workshop on lower floor. He continued designing yachts, fifty-six of which he completed over the course of his lifetime. In addition, he obtained a wrecking license from the State of Florida to salvage ships on Biscayne Bay, which were numerous due to the surrounding reef and shallow waters. After he had settled into his various careers, the always social Munroe founded the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club in 1887. He was the club's first Commodore, a position he held for twenty-two years.
Fully established in every regard but one, Munroe decided to start the construction of his house "The Barnacle" in 1891. He met his second wife, Jessie Wirth, on a sailing trip in 1894, and was married a year later in 1895. Jessie gave birth to a daughter, Patty, (1900), and a son, Wirth, (1902) who also became a yacht designer. The family took frequent cruises on the bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
In 1903, he and friend Tom Hine established a resort on the property called Camp Biscayne, guests included Ruth Rowland Nichols, William Grigsby McCormick, and Alexander Graham Bell. Many who wintered at Camp Biscayne would later settle the area permanently, as Munroe did. Munroe's autobiography, The Commodore's Story was published in 1930. Written with the assistance of Vincent Gilpin, it is one of the few first hand accounts existing of pioneer days in Miami-Dade County.
Munroe was a very good friend of Captain Nat Herreshoff, America's preeminent yacht designer. Herreshoff spent the last winters of his life residing at a cottage at the Barnacle.
Photography was another important aspect of Munroe's life. He was an accomplished amateur photographer. During his lifetime many of his photographs were used in magazines, newspapers, and books as illustrations. His photographs are the only record we have of what pioneer days looked like in early Miami. Fortunately many of these photographs were published in the book The Forgotten Frontier and are therefore available to us today.
Munroe died on 26 August, 1933 at the age of 82. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts. Munroe was survived by his wife and two children who, along with his other descendants, would continue to occupy The Barnacle until 1973, when the family sold it to the State of Florida.
Obituary: Boston Herald, Thursday, September 7, 1933
CONCORD - Sept. 6 - Committal Services for Ralph M. Munroe, naval architect for 50 years, identified with the development of Biscayne Bay, the Miami section of Florida, who died in Miami, Aug. 26, will be at 3PM tomorrow afternoon in the family lot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
The service will be conducted by the Rev. Charles Russell Peck rector of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Munroe was born in New York 82 years ago. He was the founder and for 22 years commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. He was the grandson of William Munroe, inventor and manufacturer of the first lead pencils in America, and a nephew of William Munroe, who built the Concord Free Public Library. He was a graduate of the School of Mines at Columbia University.
He leaves his widow, Mrs Jessie W. Munroe; a daughter Mrs. William R. Catlow of New York City; a son, Wirth M. Munroe of Miami and a sister, Mrs. Ellen M. Austen of Pulaski, N. Y.
∼Ralph Middleton Munroe was born and raised in Staten Island, N.Y. His grandfather, William Munroe, designed and manufactured the first lead pencil in the U.S. shortly after the war of 1812. As a youngster Munroe was influenced by conservationists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom were family friends. After attending military school, Munroe studied drafting at Columbia University in New York.
As a young man, Ralph Munroe took an interest in boats. In 1877 he jumped at the chance to sail to Key West, Florida with a relative. En route the party sailed across Biscayne Bay, discovering the wilderness along the coast and the scattered human settlements along the Miami River. Munroe was favorably impressed by the mild climate, subtropical landscapes, and the friendly people he encountered in south Florida.
Back in New York, Munroe met Eva Hewitt of Staten Island. The couple was married in 1879 and had a baby daughter the following year. When Eva Munroe developed tuberculosis a year later, the couple traveled by steamer to south Florida to find a more suitable climate. Accompanying them was Eva's sister Adeline Hewitt, who was also suffering from tuberculosis, and her brother Mott Hewitt. The baby remained in New York with her grandmother.
Munroe set up camp for the family along the north bank of the Miami River. Despite his efforts, however, illness claimed both his wife and sister within a short time. But Munroe's grief did not end there. Upon returning to New York with Eva's family, Munroe also learned that his baby daughter had died as well.
Yearning to see his wife's grave, Munroe returned to South Florida in 1882 with his brother-in-law Mott Hewitt. The pair helped a friend in Coconut Grove build a hotel on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The Bay View Villa (later renamed the Peacock Inn) opened the following winter. For several years thereafter, Munroe traveled between New York and south Florida.
In 1886, Ralph Munroe decided to make Coconut Grove his permanent winter home. He bought 40 acres of bayfront land for $400 and one of his sailboats, valued at an additional $400. In 1887, Munroe built a boathouse, using its upper floor as his residence until the main house was completed in 1891. The house was a one-story bungalow that Munroe named the "Barnacle. It was constructed partly from salvaged ship timber. Some ten years later, when more space was needed at the Barnacle, the original structure was lifted and a new first floor inserted below. The Barnacle still stands in Coconut Grove today -- the oldest home that has remained in its original location in Dade County.
In 1887, a group of residents formed the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and elected Ralph Munroe as Commodore, a title he held for 22 years. Boats were the primary mode of transportation in Coconut Grove at that time, and the Yacht Club was a place of prominence in community life. Munroe made his living by designing yachts for many of South Florida's pioneers. He also worked as a wrecker, salvaging boats that had run aground in Biscayne Bay.
In the fall of 1894 Munroe met Miss Jessie Wirth while on a cruise with friends. They were married that spring. They had two children, a daughter, Patty, and a son, Wirth. The family took frequent cruises on Biscayne Bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
Ralph Munroe remained an active leader of the Coconut Grove community, successfully fighting developers who proposed to build artificial islands offshore and engineers who proposed piping raw sewage into the Bay. He established a library, post office, churches, and schools. His photographs depict the people and places of Coconut Grove, maritime places (Miami River, Florida Keys, Bahamas, lighthouses, etc.) and maritime activities around Biscayne Bay (boat-building, sailboats, wrecking, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, etc.). Munroe's book, The Commodore's Story: The Early Days on Biscayne Bay, co-written by Vincent Gilpin, offers a rare glimpse of south Florida at the turn of the century.
Munroe was born to Thomas and Ellen Middleton Munroe at their family home on 22nd Street near 4th Avenue in New York City on April 3rd, 1851. In 1854, the Munroe family moved to Staten Island where Munroe spent his childhood. Growing up near the sea, he became fascinated with the boats that were essential to island life. While a student at Eagleswood Military Academy , near Perth Amboy, New Jersey from 1861 to 1864, he purchased the "Hornet," for a mere $2.00, the first of many boats he was to own.
After briefly attending Columbia University in New York City, Munroe participated in a number of lucrative business ventures as well as yachting adventures. In 1874, he encountered William Brickell off of the coast of Staten Island; a meeting which would change his life. It was from him that Munroe learned more of Biscayne Bay, which he visited for the first time in 1877.
At 28 years of age, Munroe married Eva Amelia Hewitt in 1879 and established his permanent home at Great Kills, Staten Island. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Edith Munroe. The joy of his daughter's birth was met with tragedy, however. Within the next few months, Eva contracted tuberculosis and in the hopes of recovery, Munroe brought Eva; her sister, Adeline, also tubercular; and their brother to Biscayne Bay. His daughter Edith died in her grandmother's care shortly after their departure. Eva died in April 1882. A devastated Munroe soon returned to Staten Island.
Between the years of 1882 and 1886, Munroe returned several times to Biscayne Bay, spending winters with Charles and Isabella Peacock, who were then building the Bay View House, Dade County's first hotel, later renamed the Peacock Inn. He returned to summer in Staten Island each year. Finally, in 1886, Munroe decided to make Cocoanut Grove his permanent home and purchased the future site of The Barnacle Historic State Park, which was at the time 40 acres (160,000 m2) of bay front property. He paid $400 in cash in addition to one of his yachts, the Kingfish, which he valued at an additional $400. Two years later, in 1888, he sold his home in Staten Island to remain year round in Coconut Grove.5
With his new home began a new life. Munroe built his boathouse directly on the bay in 1887 with living quarters on upper floor and a workshop on lower floor. He continued designing yachts, fifty-six of which he completed over the course of his lifetime. In addition, he obtained a wrecking license from the State of Florida to salvage ships on Biscayne Bay, which were numerous due to the surrounding reef and shallow waters. After he had settled into his various careers, the always social Munroe founded the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club in 1887. He was the club's first Commodore, a position he held for twenty-two years.
Fully established in every regard but one, Munroe decided to start the construction of his house "The Barnacle" in 1891. He met his second wife, Jessie Wirth, on a sailing trip in 1894, and was married a year later in 1895. Jessie gave birth to a daughter, Patty, (1900), and a son, Wirth, (1902) who also became a yacht designer. The family took frequent cruises on the bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
In 1903, he and friend Tom Hine established a resort on the property called Camp Biscayne, guests included Ruth Rowland Nichols, William Grigsby McCormick, and Alexander Graham Bell. Many who wintered at Camp Biscayne would later settle the area permanently, as Munroe did. Munroe's autobiography, The Commodore's Story was published in 1930. Written with the assistance of Vincent Gilpin, it is one of the few first hand accounts existing of pioneer days in Miami-Dade County.
Munroe was a very good friend of Captain Nat Herreshoff, America's preeminent yacht designer. Herreshoff spent the last winters of his life residing at a cottage at the Barnacle.
Photography was another important aspect of Munroe's life. He was an accomplished amateur photographer. During his lifetime many of his photographs were used in magazines, newspapers, and books as illustrations. His photographs are the only record we have of what pioneer days looked like in early Miami. Fortunately many of these photographs were published in the book The Forgotten Frontier and are therefore available to us today.
Munroe died on 26 August, 1933 at the age of 82. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts. Munroe was survived by his wife and two children who, along with his other descendants, would continue to occupy The Barnacle until 1973, when the family sold it to the State of Florida.
Obituary: Boston Herald, Thursday, September 7, 1933
CONCORD - Sept. 6 - Committal Services for Ralph M. Munroe, naval architect for 50 years, identified with the development of Biscayne Bay, the Miami section of Florida, who died in Miami, Aug. 26, will be at 3PM tomorrow afternoon in the family lot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
The service will be conducted by the Rev. Charles Russell Peck rector of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Munroe was born in New York 82 years ago. He was the founder and for 22 years commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. He was the grandson of William Munroe, inventor and manufacturer of the first lead pencils in America, and a nephew of William Munroe, who built the Concord Free Public Library. He was a graduate of the School of Mines at Columbia University.
He leaves his widow, Mrs Jessie W. Munroe; a daughter Mrs. William R. Catlow of New York City; a son, Wirth M. Munroe of Miami and a sister, Mrs. Ellen M. Austen of Pulaski, N. Y.
∼Ralph Middleton Munroe was born and raised in Staten Island, N.Y. His grandfather, William Munroe, designed and manufactured the first lead pencil in the U.S. shortly after the war of 1812. As a youngster Munroe was influenced by conservationists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom were family friends. After attending military school, Munroe studied drafting at Columbia University in New York.
As a young man, Ralph Munroe took an interest in boats. In 1877 he jumped at the chance to sail to Key West, Florida with a relative. En route the party sailed across Biscayne Bay, discovering the wilderness along the coast and the scattered human settlements along the Miami River. Munroe was favorably impressed by the mild climate, subtropical landscapes, and the friendly people he encountered in south Florida.
Back in New York, Munroe met Eva Hewitt of Staten Island. The couple was married in 1879 and had a baby daughter the following year. When Eva Munroe developed tuberculosis a year later, the couple traveled by steamer to south Florida to find a more suitable climate. Accompanying them was Eva's sister Adeline Hewitt, who was also suffering from tuberculosis, and her brother Mott Hewitt. The baby remained in New York with her grandmother.
Munroe set up camp for the family along the north bank of the Miami River. Despite his efforts, however, illness claimed both his wife and sister within a short time. But Munroe's grief did not end there. Upon returning to New York with Eva's family, Munroe also learned that his baby daughter had died as well.
Yearning to see his wife's grave, Munroe returned to South Florida in 1882 with his brother-in-law Mott Hewitt. The pair helped a friend in Coconut Grove build a hotel on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The Bay View Villa (later renamed the Peacock Inn) opened the following winter. For several years thereafter, Munroe traveled between New York and south Florida.
In 1886, Ralph Munroe decided to make Coconut Grove his permanent winter home. He bought 40 acres of bayfront land for $400 and one of his sailboats, valued at an additional $400. In 1887, Munroe built a boathouse, using its upper floor as his residence until the main house was completed in 1891. The house was a one-story bungalow that Munroe named the "Barnacle. It was constructed partly from salvaged ship timber. Some ten years later, when more space was needed at the Barnacle, the original structure was lifted and a new first floor inserted below. The Barnacle still stands in Coconut Grove today -- the oldest home that has remained in its original location in Dade County.
In 1887, a group of residents formed the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and elected Ralph Munroe as Commodore, a title he held for 22 years. Boats were the primary mode of transportation in Coconut Grove at that time, and the Yacht Club was a place of prominence in community life. Munroe made his living by designing yachts for many of South Florida's pioneers. He also worked as a wrecker, salvaging boats that had run aground in Biscayne Bay.
In the fall of 1894 Munroe met Miss Jessie Wirth while on a cruise with friends. They were married that spring. They had two children, a daughter, Patty, and a son, Wirth. The family took frequent cruises on Biscayne Bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
Ralph Munroe remained an active leader of the Coconut Grove community, successfully fighting developers who proposed to build artificial islands offshore and engineers who proposed piping raw sewage into the Bay. He established a library, post office, churches, and schools. His photographs depict the people and places of Coconut Grove, maritime places (Miami River, Florida Keys, Bahamas, lighthouses, etc.) and maritime activities around Biscayne Bay (boat-building, sailboats, wrecking, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, etc.). Munroe's book, The Commodore's Story: The Early Days on Biscayne Bay, co-written by Vincent Gilpin, offers a rare glimpse of south Florida at the turn of the century.
Photo & Bio from Wikipedia
Munroe was born to Thomas and Ellen Middleton Munroe at their family home on 22nd Street near 4th Avenue in New York City on April 3rd, 1851. In 1854, the Munroe family moved to Staten Island where Munroe spent his childhood. Growing up near the sea, he became fascinated with the boats that were essential to island life. While a student at Eagleswood Military Academy , near Perth Amboy, New Jersey from 1861 to 1864, he purchased the "Hornet," for a mere $2.00, the first of many boats he was to own.
After briefly attending Columbia University in New York City, Munroe participated in a number of lucrative business ventures as well as yachting adventures. In 1874, he encountered William Brickell off of the coast of Staten Island; a meeting which would change his life. It was from him that Munroe learned more of Biscayne Bay, which he visited for the first time in 1877.
At 28 years of age, Munroe married Eva Amelia Hewitt in 1879 and established his permanent home at Great Kills, Staten Island. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Edith Munroe. The joy of his daughter's birth was met with tragedy, however. Within the next few months, Eva contracted tuberculosis and in the hopes of recovery, Munroe brought Eva; her sister, Adeline, also tubercular; and their brother to Biscayne Bay. His daughter Edith died in her grandmother's care shortly after their departure. Eva died in April 1882. A devastated Munroe soon returned to Staten Island.
Between the years of 1882 and 1886, Munroe returned several times to Biscayne Bay, spending winters with Charles and Isabella Peacock, who were then building the Bay View House, Dade County's first hotel, later renamed the Peacock Inn. He returned to summer in Staten Island each year. Finally, in 1886, Munroe decided to make Cocoanut Grove his permanent home and purchased the future site of The Barnacle Historic State Park, which was at the time 40 acres (160,000 m2) of bay front property. He paid $400 in cash in addition to one of his yachts, the Kingfish, which he valued at an additional $400. Two years later, in 1888, he sold his home in Staten Island to remain year round in Coconut Grove.5
With his new home began a new life. Munroe built his boathouse directly on the bay in 1887 with living quarters on upper floor and a workshop on lower floor. He continued designing yachts, fifty-six of which he completed over the course of his lifetime. In addition, he obtained a wrecking license from the State of Florida to salvage ships on Biscayne Bay, which were numerous due to the surrounding reef and shallow waters. After he had settled into his various careers, the always social Munroe founded the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club in 1887. He was the club's first Commodore, a position he held for twenty-two years.
Fully established in every regard but one, Munroe decided to start the construction of his house "The Barnacle" in 1891. He met his second wife, Jessie Wirth, on a sailing trip in 1894, and was married a year later in 1895. Jessie gave birth to a daughter, Patty, (1900), and a son, Wirth, (1902) who also became a yacht designer. The family took frequent cruises on the bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
In 1903, he and friend Tom Hine established a resort on the property called Camp Biscayne, guests included Ruth Rowland Nichols, William Grigsby McCormick, and Alexander Graham Bell. Many who wintered at Camp Biscayne would later settle the area permanently, as Munroe did. Munroe's autobiography, The Commodore's Story was published in 1930. Written with the assistance of Vincent Gilpin, it is one of the few first hand accounts existing of pioneer days in Miami-Dade County.
Munroe was a very good friend of Captain Nat Herreshoff, America's preeminent yacht designer. Herreshoff spent the last winters of his life residing at a cottage at the Barnacle.
Photography was another important aspect of Munroe's life. He was an accomplished amateur photographer. During his lifetime many of his photographs were used in magazines, newspapers, and books as illustrations. His photographs are the only record we have of what pioneer days looked like in early Miami. Fortunately many of these photographs were published in the book The Forgotten Frontier and are therefore available to us today.
Munroe died on 26 August, 1933 at the age of 82. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts. Munroe was survived by his wife and two children who, along with his other descendants, would continue to occupy The Barnacle until 1973, when the family sold it to the State of Florida.
Obituary: Boston Herald, Thursday, September 7, 1933
CONCORD - Sept. 6 - Committal Services for Ralph M. Munroe, naval architect for 50 years, identified with the development of Biscayne Bay, the Miami section of Florida, who died in Miami, Aug. 26, will be at 3PM tomorrow afternoon in the family lot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
The service will be conducted by the Rev. Charles Russell Peck rector of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Munroe was born in New York 82 years ago. He was the founder and for 22 years commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. He was the grandson of William Munroe, inventor and manufacturer of the first lead pencils in America, and a nephew of William Munroe, who built the Concord Free Public Library. He was a graduate of the School of Mines at Columbia University.
He leaves his widow, Mrs Jessie W. Munroe; a daughter Mrs. William R. Catlow of New York City; a son, Wirth M. Munroe of Miami and a sister, Mrs. Ellen M. Austen of Pulaski, N. Y.
∼Ralph Middleton Munroe was born and raised in Staten Island, N.Y. His grandfather, William Munroe, designed and manufactured the first lead pencil in the U.S. shortly after the war of 1812. As a youngster Munroe was influenced by conservationists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom were family friends. After attending military school, Munroe studied drafting at Columbia University in New York.
As a young man, Ralph Munroe took an interest in boats. In 1877 he jumped at the chance to sail to Key West, Florida with a relative. En route the party sailed across Biscayne Bay, discovering the wilderness along the coast and the scattered human settlements along the Miami River. Munroe was favorably impressed by the mild climate, subtropical landscapes, and the friendly people he encountered in south Florida.
Back in New York, Munroe met Eva Hewitt of Staten Island. The couple was married in 1879 and had a baby daughter the following year. When Eva Munroe developed tuberculosis a year later, the couple traveled by steamer to south Florida to find a more suitable climate. Accompanying them was Eva's sister Adeline Hewitt, who was also suffering from tuberculosis, and her brother Mott Hewitt. The baby remained in New York with her grandmother.
Munroe set up camp for the family along the north bank of the Miami River. Despite his efforts, however, illness claimed both his wife and sister within a short time. But Munroe's grief did not end there. Upon returning to New York with Eva's family, Munroe also learned that his baby daughter had died as well.
Yearning to see his wife's grave, Munroe returned to South Florida in 1882 with his brother-in-law Mott Hewitt. The pair helped a friend in Coconut Grove build a hotel on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The Bay View Villa (later renamed the Peacock Inn) opened the following winter. For several years thereafter, Munroe traveled between New York and south Florida.
In 1886, Ralph Munroe decided to make Coconut Grove his permanent winter home. He bought 40 acres of bayfront land for $400 and one of his sailboats, valued at an additional $400. In 1887, Munroe built a boathouse, using its upper floor as his residence until the main house was completed in 1891. The house was a one-story bungalow that Munroe named the "Barnacle. It was constructed partly from salvaged ship timber. Some ten years later, when more space was needed at the Barnacle, the original structure was lifted and a new first floor inserted below. The Barnacle still stands in Coconut Grove today -- the oldest home that has remained in its original location in Dade County.
In 1887, a group of residents formed the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and elected Ralph Munroe as Commodore, a title he held for 22 years. Boats were the primary mode of transportation in Coconut Grove at that time, and the Yacht Club was a place of prominence in community life. Munroe made his living by designing yachts for many of South Florida's pioneers. He also worked as a wrecker, salvaging boats that had run aground in Biscayne Bay.
In the fall of 1894 Munroe met Miss Jessie Wirth while on a cruise with friends. They were married that spring. They had two children, a daughter, Patty, and a son, Wirth. The family took frequent cruises on Biscayne Bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
Ralph Munroe remained an active leader of the Coconut Grove community, successfully fighting developers who proposed to build artificial islands offshore and engineers who proposed piping raw sewage into the Bay. He established a library, post office, churches, and schools. His photographs depict the people and places of Coconut Grove, maritime places (Miami River, Florida Keys, Bahamas, lighthouses, etc.) and maritime activities around Biscayne Bay (boat-building, sailboats, wrecking, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, etc.). Munroe's book, The Commodore's Story: The Early Days on Biscayne Bay, co-written by Vincent Gilpin, offers a rare glimpse of south Florida at the turn of the century.
Munroe was born to Thomas and Ellen Middleton Munroe at their family home on 22nd Street near 4th Avenue in New York City on April 3rd, 1851. In 1854, the Munroe family moved to Staten Island where Munroe spent his childhood. Growing up near the sea, he became fascinated with the boats that were essential to island life. While a student at Eagleswood Military Academy , near Perth Amboy, New Jersey from 1861 to 1864, he purchased the "Hornet," for a mere $2.00, the first of many boats he was to own.
After briefly attending Columbia University in New York City, Munroe participated in a number of lucrative business ventures as well as yachting adventures. In 1874, he encountered William Brickell off of the coast of Staten Island; a meeting which would change his life. It was from him that Munroe learned more of Biscayne Bay, which he visited for the first time in 1877.
At 28 years of age, Munroe married Eva Amelia Hewitt in 1879 and established his permanent home at Great Kills, Staten Island. Two years later, she gave birth to a daughter, Edith Munroe. The joy of his daughter's birth was met with tragedy, however. Within the next few months, Eva contracted tuberculosis and in the hopes of recovery, Munroe brought Eva; her sister, Adeline, also tubercular; and their brother to Biscayne Bay. His daughter Edith died in her grandmother's care shortly after their departure. Eva died in April 1882. A devastated Munroe soon returned to Staten Island.
Between the years of 1882 and 1886, Munroe returned several times to Biscayne Bay, spending winters with Charles and Isabella Peacock, who were then building the Bay View House, Dade County's first hotel, later renamed the Peacock Inn. He returned to summer in Staten Island each year. Finally, in 1886, Munroe decided to make Cocoanut Grove his permanent home and purchased the future site of The Barnacle Historic State Park, which was at the time 40 acres (160,000 m2) of bay front property. He paid $400 in cash in addition to one of his yachts, the Kingfish, which he valued at an additional $400. Two years later, in 1888, he sold his home in Staten Island to remain year round in Coconut Grove.5
With his new home began a new life. Munroe built his boathouse directly on the bay in 1887 with living quarters on upper floor and a workshop on lower floor. He continued designing yachts, fifty-six of which he completed over the course of his lifetime. In addition, he obtained a wrecking license from the State of Florida to salvage ships on Biscayne Bay, which were numerous due to the surrounding reef and shallow waters. After he had settled into his various careers, the always social Munroe founded the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club in 1887. He was the club's first Commodore, a position he held for twenty-two years.
Fully established in every regard but one, Munroe decided to start the construction of his house "The Barnacle" in 1891. He met his second wife, Jessie Wirth, on a sailing trip in 1894, and was married a year later in 1895. Jessie gave birth to a daughter, Patty, (1900), and a son, Wirth, (1902) who also became a yacht designer. The family took frequent cruises on the bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
In 1903, he and friend Tom Hine established a resort on the property called Camp Biscayne, guests included Ruth Rowland Nichols, William Grigsby McCormick, and Alexander Graham Bell. Many who wintered at Camp Biscayne would later settle the area permanently, as Munroe did. Munroe's autobiography, The Commodore's Story was published in 1930. Written with the assistance of Vincent Gilpin, it is one of the few first hand accounts existing of pioneer days in Miami-Dade County.
Munroe was a very good friend of Captain Nat Herreshoff, America's preeminent yacht designer. Herreshoff spent the last winters of his life residing at a cottage at the Barnacle.
Photography was another important aspect of Munroe's life. He was an accomplished amateur photographer. During his lifetime many of his photographs were used in magazines, newspapers, and books as illustrations. His photographs are the only record we have of what pioneer days looked like in early Miami. Fortunately many of these photographs were published in the book The Forgotten Frontier and are therefore available to us today.
Munroe died on 26 August, 1933 at the age of 82. He was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Massachusetts. Munroe was survived by his wife and two children who, along with his other descendants, would continue to occupy The Barnacle until 1973, when the family sold it to the State of Florida.
Obituary: Boston Herald, Thursday, September 7, 1933
CONCORD - Sept. 6 - Committal Services for Ralph M. Munroe, naval architect for 50 years, identified with the development of Biscayne Bay, the Miami section of Florida, who died in Miami, Aug. 26, will be at 3PM tomorrow afternoon in the family lot at Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.
The service will be conducted by the Rev. Charles Russell Peck rector of Trinity Episcopal Church.
Mr. Munroe was born in New York 82 years ago. He was the founder and for 22 years commodore of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. He was the grandson of William Munroe, inventor and manufacturer of the first lead pencils in America, and a nephew of William Munroe, who built the Concord Free Public Library. He was a graduate of the School of Mines at Columbia University.
He leaves his widow, Mrs Jessie W. Munroe; a daughter Mrs. William R. Catlow of New York City; a son, Wirth M. Munroe of Miami and a sister, Mrs. Ellen M. Austen of Pulaski, N. Y.
∼Ralph Middleton Munroe was born and raised in Staten Island, N.Y. His grandfather, William Munroe, designed and manufactured the first lead pencil in the U.S. shortly after the war of 1812. As a youngster Munroe was influenced by conservationists Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson, both of whom were family friends. After attending military school, Munroe studied drafting at Columbia University in New York.
As a young man, Ralph Munroe took an interest in boats. In 1877 he jumped at the chance to sail to Key West, Florida with a relative. En route the party sailed across Biscayne Bay, discovering the wilderness along the coast and the scattered human settlements along the Miami River. Munroe was favorably impressed by the mild climate, subtropical landscapes, and the friendly people he encountered in south Florida.
Back in New York, Munroe met Eva Hewitt of Staten Island. The couple was married in 1879 and had a baby daughter the following year. When Eva Munroe developed tuberculosis a year later, the couple traveled by steamer to south Florida to find a more suitable climate. Accompanying them was Eva's sister Adeline Hewitt, who was also suffering from tuberculosis, and her brother Mott Hewitt. The baby remained in New York with her grandmother.
Munroe set up camp for the family along the north bank of the Miami River. Despite his efforts, however, illness claimed both his wife and sister within a short time. But Munroe's grief did not end there. Upon returning to New York with Eva's family, Munroe also learned that his baby daughter had died as well.
Yearning to see his wife's grave, Munroe returned to South Florida in 1882 with his brother-in-law Mott Hewitt. The pair helped a friend in Coconut Grove build a hotel on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The Bay View Villa (later renamed the Peacock Inn) opened the following winter. For several years thereafter, Munroe traveled between New York and south Florida.
In 1886, Ralph Munroe decided to make Coconut Grove his permanent winter home. He bought 40 acres of bayfront land for $400 and one of his sailboats, valued at an additional $400. In 1887, Munroe built a boathouse, using its upper floor as his residence until the main house was completed in 1891. The house was a one-story bungalow that Munroe named the "Barnacle. It was constructed partly from salvaged ship timber. Some ten years later, when more space was needed at the Barnacle, the original structure was lifted and a new first floor inserted below. The Barnacle still stands in Coconut Grove today -- the oldest home that has remained in its original location in Dade County.
In 1887, a group of residents formed the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club and elected Ralph Munroe as Commodore, a title he held for 22 years. Boats were the primary mode of transportation in Coconut Grove at that time, and the Yacht Club was a place of prominence in community life. Munroe made his living by designing yachts for many of South Florida's pioneers. He also worked as a wrecker, salvaging boats that had run aground in Biscayne Bay.
In the fall of 1894 Munroe met Miss Jessie Wirth while on a cruise with friends. They were married that spring. They had two children, a daughter, Patty, and a son, Wirth. The family took frequent cruises on Biscayne Bay and the children learned to sail at a very early age.
Ralph Munroe remained an active leader of the Coconut Grove community, successfully fighting developers who proposed to build artificial islands offshore and engineers who proposed piping raw sewage into the Bay. He established a library, post office, churches, and schools. His photographs depict the people and places of Coconut Grove, maritime places (Miami River, Florida Keys, Bahamas, lighthouses, etc.) and maritime activities around Biscayne Bay (boat-building, sailboats, wrecking, Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, etc.). Munroe's book, The Commodore's Story: The Early Days on Biscayne Bay, co-written by Vincent Gilpin, offers a rare glimpse of south Florida at the turn of the century.
Family Members
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Records on Ancestry
Advertisement
