Completed in 1907, the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse, which rises 136 feet above water and marks the northern end of the Florida Reef, isn't just any lighthouse. It contains a 5,500,000-candlepower light and is the most powerful light on the east coast of the United States. And there's more history. This lighthouse was also made famous thanks to the most famous of the "barefoot mailmen," carriers of the first U.S. mail route between Palm Beach and Miami. Because there was no paved road on that route, the mailmen had to get through by boat and by walking the sand along the beach. James Hamilton was the most famous of these after disappearing delivering mail on the route just after October 10, 1887, presumably the victim of drowning or an encounter with a hungry alligator while trying to swim across Hillsboro inlet to retrieve his boat from the far side. His body was never recovered. A big trial ensued and his death still remains a mystery today. The original stone statue of the Barefoot Mailman by Frank Varga is permanently displayed on the shores of the Hillsboro inlet next to the Hillsboro lighthouse with an inscription dedicated to Hamilton. A fascinating story, that can be told in much more detail with a tour by the Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society, given once every other month, usually on Saturdays. If the tour isn't available, go see it for yourself.
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