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. Originally named "Mosquito Inlet", Ponce de Leon Inlet is the site of the Town of Ponce Inlet and the Ponce de Leon Lighthouse Station.
Spanish explorers knew the area around Halifax River and Ponce Inlet in Volusia County 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. [1]
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.[2]
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.
Man-made adaptations to the natural inlet include the 4,200ft north and 2,700ft south jetties constructed in 1969. The inlet was originally operated by Volusia County's Ponce de Leon Inlet & Port District, which was disbanded and reorganized as the Ponce Inlet Port Authority[3] under Volusia County Municipal Code of Ordinance Article VIII.[4]
The inlet's navigational channels are maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Ponce de Leon Inlet Operation and Maintenance Project which consists of an entrance channel which is 15 feet deep and 200 feet wide across the ocean bar; 12 feet deep by 200 feet wide and 12 deep by 100 feet wide to Indian River North; 12 deep by 100 feet wide southward to the Intracoastal Waterway (IWW); 7 feet deep by 100 feet wide in the Halifax River northward to the IWW; and ocean jetties 4,200 feet long and 2,700 feet long on the north and south sides of the inlet, respectively.[5]
The 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 damage and reinforce the entire jetty in order to reduce the constant shoaling of sand in the channel.[6]
Vessels navigating the inlet during low tide should exercise great care due to the constantly moving sand shoals.
Excerpt from a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Ponce de Leon Inlet, FL Operations and Maintenance Congressional Fact Sheet dated May, 2020:
"The unstable nature of the navigation channel in Ponce de Leon Inlet is a continuing safety problem as recorded by the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard has documented vessel groundings, capsized vessels, and over 20 lives lost in the vicinity of the inlet. The entrance and interior channels require the Coast Guard to frequently monitor and relocate aids to navigation due to the need to identify safe water."[5]
Historical Timeline
- 1513: Ponce de Leon explored the Ponce Inlet area.
- 1803: Antonio Pons (Ponz or Ponce), a New Smyrna Minorcan, was granted 175 acres north of the inlet by Spain
- 1812: Antonio Pons killed while serving the King of Spain during the Patriots War
- 1820: Pons' widow received an additional grant of 230 acres in return for her husband's service to Spain
- 1821: Florida ceded to the United States by Spain. Live oak lumbering began at Los Mosquitoes
- 1834: First lighthouse built on New Smyrna side of Inlet destroyed by Indians and a storm
- 1870: Congress appropriated $60,000 to secure a site and build a lighthouse at the inlet
- 1884: Brigadier General Orville Babcock appointed engineer to build the lighthouse and he named the local community Ponce (Pons) Park
- 1887: Ponce Lighthouse went into service on November 1st
- 1928: Florida Legislature renamed Mosquito Inlet to Ponce de Leon Inlet
- 1941: Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District was formed.
- 1964: Town of Ponce Inlet leased the lighthouse reservation property from the U.S government for $1 per year to use as Town Hall
- 1968: A Volusia County tax assessment was approved for the Ponce de Leon Inlet and Port District
- 1969: North and south jetties at the inlet were completed.
- 1972: U.S. Interior Department deeded the Ponce de Leon Light Station to the Town of Ponce Inlet
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)
See Also
Web Links
- Ponce Inlet Town History
- USACE Press Release - Jacksonville District awards contract to repair Ponce de Leon North Jetty
- Volusia County Press Release - North Jetty Repairs
References
- ↑ (Template:ISOdate) Florida LighthousesTemplate:,Template:City⧼colon⧽ University of Florida PressTemplate:, ⧼colon⧽ 0-8130-0993-6.
- ↑ Ponce Inlet Town History, Retrieved on October 8, 2020
- ↑ ARTICLE VIII - PONCE DeLEON INLET AND PORT DISTRICT
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 USACE - Ponce de Leon Inlet O&M Project
- ↑ US Army Corps of Engineers Press Release dated 08-04-2020: Jacksonville District awards contract to repair Ponce de Leon North Jetty
