National Register of Historic Places recognizes Loxahatchee battlefield park in Jupiter

Maya Washburn, Palm Beach Post
·3 min read

JUPITER — The Loxahatchee Battlefield has historical significance dating to more than 5,000 years ago. Now it has national status as well, earning a spot on the National Register of Historic Places.

The battlefield, nestled into the Loxahatchee River Battlefield Park off West Indiantown Road, was where two Second Seminole War battles were fought nearly 200 years ago.

County officials and advocates for the battlefield's preservation worked for 18 years to get it listed on the register, where it officially landed April 5.

Jennifer Cirillo, Palm Beach County's parks and recreation director, said she and her coworkers rejoiced when they got the letter in the mail from the National Parks Service.

“There is something about the battlefield. … You feel like you are stepping back into history and old Florida,” Cirillo said. “We've known it as locally important for a long time, but it's great to have this recognition.”

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Cirillo said the designation came at the perfect time.

County staff hope to build an education center — and craft design plans for it as early as 2026 — at the park where the battlefield sits. The center would have exhibits highlighting the history of the indigenous people who once lived there.

The county has not yet secured the funding needed for it, but now that the battlefield is on the national register, it can apply for grants that could help turn the education center from a dream to a reality.

According to the Florida Department of State, the National Register listing does not impose limitations on the property's use but encourages the preservation of its significant historical resources. The county shares that goal. It saved the 61 acres from becoming a mobile-home park when it purchased the land in 1977.

Palm Beach County hosts 74 sites on the national register.

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Diverse groups sought national status for Loxahatchee battlefield site

Members of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, the Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists and the Florida Black Historical Research Project all worked together during the nomination process. Cirillo said the groups produce “powerful experiences” at the battlefield every year.

Volunteers with the Loxahatchee Battlefield Preservationists reenact the Battle of the Loxahatchee, fought on Jan. 24, 1838, between the United States military and the Seminole Indians, at the battlefield every January.

Historians have called the battle the last major one in the nation's longest and most expensive war against Native Americans. Most of the Seminole Nation, including about 500 Black Seminoles, was moved to lands in the western U.S. designated as the "Indian Territory." History refers to the forced evacuation as the Trail of Tears.

Black Seminoles were escaped slaves and free Africans who fought alongside the Seminoles to seek their freedom before the Civil War. Members of the Florida Black Historical Research Project host an annual remembrance ceremony during Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in honor of their ancestors.

“People are invested in protecting this special place,” said Cirillo, who noted that the director at the time when she first started working at the department, Dennis Eshleman, instructed her to concentrate on preserving it throughout her time on the job.

Families around the nation venture out to visit sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Cirillo thinks the new status will help bring deserved tourism to northern Palm Beach County.

“Our locals know about this best-kept history here in the county, but it's something that we can share with folks in other areas as well,” Cirillo said.

Palm Beach County staff also wants to add three sites to the national register:

  • A wooden historic railroad cottage in South Bay near Lake Okeechobee that survived the 1928 hurricane.

  • The Dubois Home in Jupiter, which was built by Harry Dubois in 1898.

  • The portico at South Inlet Park in Boca Raton.

Maya Washburn covers northern Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida-Network. Reach her at mwashburn@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Loxahatchee Battlefield Park in Jupiter earns national historic status