Situated on the shore of Biscayne Bay, The Barnacle was the 19th century home of Ralph Middleton Munroe, one of Coconut Grove’s most interesting and influential pioneers. The Florida Park Service acquired the remaining five acres of Munroe’s original 40 acre homesite from his descendants in 1973.
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, had contracted tuberculosis and indicated a radical change of climate was the best and only hope. Munroe immediately remembered the beautiful Biscayne Bay and at once prepared to take her there. Despite his efforts, illness took its toll. Eva passed away at their camp on the Miami River. Munroe was then faced with the news of their infant daughter’s death upon his arrival back in New York.
He returned to South Florida in 1882 to visit his wife’s grave and help open a hotel on Biscayne Bay. First known as the Bay View Villa, the hotel became the Peacock Inn and went on to have a long and profitable history.
Ralph Munroe purchased 40 acres of bayfront land in 1886 for $400 in addition to one of his sailboats, Kingfish, valued at an additional $400. His boat house was built in 1887 and he lived on its upper floor until his main house was completed in 1891. The house, a one-story structure, was raised off the ground on wood pilings. Its central room was octagonal in shape and Munroe came to call his home “The Barnacle,” presumably because it resembled one. 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 survived the disastrous 1926 hurricane and Hurricane Andrew in 1992 with only minimal damage.
Ralph Munroe's principal passion in life was designing yachts. Boats were the major form of transportation in the early days and yachting was a popular sport. Many South Floridians commissioned Munroe to design their yachts. In 1887, a group of residents formed the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, electing Munroe as Commodore, the 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 at the park until Hurricane Andrew reduced the 101-year-old vessel to fragments. Egret, a replica of Munroe’s 28-foot modified sharpie, is now moored offshore.
The autumn of 1894 marked a new beginning for Ralph Munroe. He met Miss Jessie Wirth while on a cruise with friends. They were married that next summer, and began a long and happy home life at The Barnacle. In 1900, Jesse gave birth to a daughter, Patty, who 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.
The road into this historic site from busy Main Highway passes through a forest of tropical hardwood hammock. In the 1920's it was an example of the original landscape within the limits of Miami. Today, it is one of the last remnants 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 left in its natural state, The Barnacle appears much as it did in Munroe's day.
As a seaman, naturalist, and photographer, Commodore Munroe was a man who cherished the natural world around him. It is a fitting legacy that we too can share at The Barnacle Historic State Park. Enjoy sitting in the rocking chairs on the spacious porch used as a gathering place or on a bench under a tree for solitude. Better yet, become a volunteer and/or join The Barnacle Society to help preserve this historic treasure.