Station J Traditional Cache
JL_HSTRE: Making way for CP9.
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This cache is located along a remnant of Old Dixie Highway east of the pavement. It was placed for Cacheapalooza 8. Cache placement approved by park biologist Rob Rossmanith and park manager Mark Nelson. Do not speed. Do not block gates. All wheels off the pavement. Do not cross the railroad except on the park road.
In 1929, the US Navy acquired 8.4 acres on the north shore of the Loxahatchee River between US Highway 1 and the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse. The base's original purpose was to broadcast weather information and monitor distress calls from ships and aircraft. US Naval Supplementary Radio Station Jupiter was active by 1936.
In 1939, the station was expanded to 12 acres and a secret radio direction finding (RDF) station was added to the existing base, codename Station J. The RDF station's purpose was to intercept radio transmissions from German U-boat submarines. Using high-frequency direction finding (HF/DF, nicknamed "huff-duff") equipment, Station J could provide a bearing and approximate distance to the Navy's Gulf Sea Frontier HQ in Miami. Similiar readings from stations in Brazil and/or western Africa could be used to triangulate a U-boat's position. U-boat transmissions were also copied down and passed on to Naval Intelligence for decoding. The base included no aircraft or ships and did not have radar.
At its peak in 1943, the station had 95 Navy personnel, plus 11 Marines for guard duty. The Navy personal were housed in four buildings, including a Married Men's Quarters with room for six families. The base also included eight 100-foot tall radio antennae, an operations building with 24 radio receivers, an administration building, a recreation hall, a mess hall, and several other support buildings. All buildings were wood-frame structures.
Station J was closed in July 1945. Starting in 1958, all buildings except the Married Men's Quarters were demolished. In 1960, the property was transfered to the US Coast Guard which had operated the adjacent lighthouse since 1939. In 2004, the Bureau of Land Management transfered part of the former Navy property to the Town of Jupiter and it became Lighthouse Park. The Married Men's Quarters was renovated in 2006 and now houses the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse Museum and the offices of the Loxahatchee River Historical Society. A historical marker was erected in 2006 just east of the building.
Source: Loxahatchee River Historical Society
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
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