Ponce de Leon Inlet

Ponce de Leon Inlet is a natural opening in the Florida East Coast barrier island that connects the north end of Mosquito Lagoon and the south end of Halifax River to the Atlantic Ocean. Ponce Inlet is the site of the town of Ponce Inlet, Florida, and the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station.

The Town of Ponce Inlet was named after Antonio Pons who settled there in 1805. By 1820, the Pons Family owned 405 acres north of the inlet and the community became known as Pons (Ponce) Park when the first lighthouse was built there in 1884.

Spanish explorers knew the area around Halifax River and Ponce Inlet as Los Mosquitoes, which became known as Mosquito County, Mosquito River, Mosquito Lagoon and Mosquito Inlet to early settlers. Mosquito County had long been divided into Orange, Volusia, and Brevard Counties, and the Mosquito River had become known as the Halifax River when the Florida Legislature renamed Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet in 1928. Only Mosquito Lagoon retains its original name.

Ponce de Leon Inlet and Jupiter Inlet are the only natural inlets among the five within the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary. Although it is a natural cut, Ponce de Leon Inlet has to be dredged on a regular basis to remove shoaling sand in order to maintain the navigation channel. It is currently maintained by the Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District, a Division of the Volusia County, Florida government.

Man-made adaptations to the natural inlet include north and south jetties originally constructed in 1969. The 4000ft north jetty was recently damaged by hurricanes and on July 28, 2020 the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers awarded a $7 million contract to repair the last 100ft and modify the entire jetty to reduce the constant shoaling of sand in the channel.

Historical Timeline

• 1513: Ponce de Leon explored the Ponce Inlet area.
• 1790: Spain attempted to settle St. Augustine outlands using land grants.
• 1803: Antonio Pons (Ponz or Ponce), a New Smyrna Minorcan, was granted 175 acres north of the inlet which he had been farming for 20 years on the point where the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse now stands
• 1806: Antonio Pons driven off by the Indians and moves to St. Augustine
• 1812: Antonio Pons killed while serving the King of Spain during the Patriots War, started by American settlers
• 1820: Pons' widow received an additional grant of 230 acres in return for her husband's service to Spain
• 1821: Florida ceded to United States by Spain. Live oak lumbering began at Los Mosquitoes (Ponce de Leon Inlet)
• 1834: First lighthouse built on New Smyrna side of Inlet destroyed by Indians and a storm
• 1842: Bartola Pacetti, a descendant of an Italian settler at New Smyrna, built a house of driftwood on fifty acres on the north side of the Inlet
• 1851: First recorded U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) survey of the inlet was made.
• 1860: Mercedes Pacetti purchased the Pons Grant
• 1870: Congress appropriated $60,000 to secure a site and build a lighthouse at the inlet
• 1883: Bartola Pacetti paid $400 for ten acres on the north side of the inlet for the lighthouse reservation site
• 1884: Brigadier General Orville Babcock appointed engineer to build the lighthouse and he renamed the local community Ponce (Pons) Park
• 1887: Ponce Lighthouse went into service on November 1st
• 1890: Nathaniel Hasty recorded the Ponce Park subdivision plat
• 1928: Florida Legislature renamed Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet
• 1941: Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District was formed.
• 1964: Town leased the lighthouse reservation property from the U.S government for $1 per year to use as Town Hall
• 1968: A tax assessment was approved for the Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District
• 1969: North and south jetties at the inlet were completed.

Source: Ponce Inlet Town History

Location

Ponce de Leon Inlet is located on the beach barrier island south of the City of Ponce Inlet in Volusia County, Florida.

Coordinates (29°04'35.4"N, 80°55'08.2"W) (29.076502, -80.918931)

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See Also

• Mosquito Lagoon
• Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve
• Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station

References