A Light in the Wilderness

You can't miss the red tower when at Jupiter Inlet in Florida. But many passers-by do miss the fact that the lighthouse beacon showed early settlers the way to southeast Florida.

Just as the hilly confluence of two waterways was a trading and ceremonial center during 5,000 years of Indian life, the large dune drew a succession of Spanish, English, Seminole Indians, and American soldiers. When the lighthouse was built in 1860, it became a hub for builders, surveyors, Civil War blockade runners, pioneer farmers and paddlewheel steamships.

In A Light in the Wilderness, author Jim Snyder tells how today's coastal strip of over 7 million residents began just a few generations ago when bears, panthers and alligators roamed and ruled.