Camp Biscayne

Camp Biscayne, a rustic winter resort was founded in 1903 by Ralph Middleton Munroe so that there would be "a stopping place in Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida" as the Peacock Inn had closed in 1902. Located a few lots south of the Barnacle (now the Barnacle Historic State Park), Camp Biscayne catered primarily to those who were interested in sailing, fishing, and the simple life. By 1925 when Camp Biscayne was closed there were several cottages and a main lodge which seated 100 people in the dining room.

At Camp Bisayne, Munroe preserved as much of the hammock (tropical forest) as possible because he believed that it had "worked out its life's problems and established itself as the legitimate occupant of the land." Using the trees in the hammock for inspiration he named each of the 11 cottages for a native tree or for an ornamental. Each tree was tagged and a list of the trees was available to guests.

A Winter Paradise in the early 20th century

South Florida was a winter resort area in the 1880s and 1890s, but it was not until Flagler's railroad reached Miami in 1896 that it really began to attract large number of visitors. The area's shallow waters had inhibited travel to the area, but numerous hotels where built once the railroad was in place. Miami hotels catered to businessmen and to society people who came for the climate and the social life.

Coconut Grove, located five miles south of Miami, attracted a very different kind of visitor. Guests at Camp Biscayne were active in the life of the community and were usually attracted to the sailing and fishing offered there. Many of these guests were well known in their communities and/or their fields. Guests included Alexander Graham Bell, several Rockefellers, Frank Gray Griswold, Chauncey McCormick, William Roscoe Thayer, Ruth Rowland Nichols, writer Lawrence Mayo, and educators Eva and Bertha McConkey. Director of the New York Botanical Gardens, Nathaniel Lord Britton and his wife Elizabeth Gertrude Britton were also guests. Connecticut families who often wintered at Camp Biscyne include the Philip Rogers Mallory family and the Addison Van Name family. Van Name was the Librarian at Yale University, his son and one daughter achieved fame in biology and botany respectively. Many of the guests owned yachts designed by Ralph Munroe.

A Brief Overview (from an undated brochure)

BISCAYNE BAY is noted for three things - climate, boating and fishing. Which one of the three is most attractive depends upon the individual taste, but for the average visitor each is notably fine, and there are few northern people who leave the Bay and its many delights without remembering it as the place for the pleasure seeker or sportsman, and as well adapted for those who prefer restful quiet as for those who seek excitement.

Camp Biscayne stands at the head of those places calculated to furnish accommodation for the more quite class. It is situated on the shore of Biscayne Bay in beautiful Coconut Grove, five miles south of Miami, and accessible by rail to Coconut Grove or by automobile or boat from Miami. The camp is set in the midst of the tropical growth of this latitude, which is more in evidence here than at any other point on the Bay. The boating and bathing are particularly good, and the outlook across the water will furnish the possessor with a pleasant memory picture that will last for many moons.

The Camp consists of a large main building with kitchen and outbuildings attached; this contains a dining room with seating capacity for 100 persons at one time; there are also a number of single and double bedrooms on the second and third floors. Surrounding this main building and scattered among the trees in picturesque irregularlity are cottages containing from 3 to 7 rooms each. Arrangements are also made for overflow accommodations in the neighborhood.

All buildings have been placed with an eye single to retaining the natural, wooded beauty of the locality, which is one of the marked features of the Camp. There are 53 varieties of trees on the grounds, including palms of several species; the banyan with its many trunks; live oaks; the mastic, from which comes the gum mastic; almond; sweet lemon; lime; and many others. Dr. John Gifford of the Government Forestry Commission has made a list of the trees growing on the grounds of the Camp, printed copies of which are available.

Filtered rain water is used for drinking and cooking. The sanitary arrangements and water supply in the cottages are modern, and all the buildings are lighted with gas or electricity. The beds could not be better, and comfort at all times is a matter of course.

The Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, while not connected with the Camp, is conveniently near, and yachtsmen are cordially welcomed. The waters of this part of the Bay are protected by outlying shoals and form an ideal anchorage for boats of all sorts, and during the winter season hardly a day occurs when the weather conditions interfere with extended trips to the Keys or points of interest along shore.

The management expects to accommodate those who come early and those who stay late in the season, and the charges at the camp are uniform. Single rooms may be had for any length of time, or cottages may be engaged for the season, but the patronage of undesirable people is not solicited. Children are welcome at the Camp if they are properly controlled.

Very special rates for December and April. Correspondence may be addressed to the New York office, 100 William Street (care of Hine Brothers), or, during the season, to the Camp at Coconut Grove, Florida.

Camp Biscayne Guest List

Connecticut

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Kentucky

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Michigan

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Other States

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Footnotes

# Arva Moore Parks. The Forgotten Frontier: Florida Through the Lens of Ralph Middleton Munroe. Miami, FL: Centennial Press, 2nd Edition, 2004, p. 178

References

*Camp Biscayne Hotel Register,1914-1925. Archives of the Barnacle Historic State Park.(Primary source)
*Camp Biscayne Has Many Noted Winter Visitors. "Miami Herald", March 3, 1923.
*Coulombe, Deborah A. and Hiller, Herbert L. "Season of Innocence: The Munroes at the Barnacle in Early Coconut Grove". Miami: The Pickering Press, 1988.
*McIver, Stuart. "One Hundred Years on Biscayne Bay: 1887-1987." Coconut Grove, Florida: Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, 1987.
*Munroe, Ralph Middleton and Gilpin, Vincent. "The Commodore's Story: The Early Days on Biscayne Bay". Miami: Historical Association of Southern Florida, 1985, pp. 306-314.
*Parks, Arva Moore. "The Forgotten Frontier: Thru the Lense of Ralph Middleton Munroe." Miami: Centennial Press, 2004.
*Taylor, Jean C. "Camp Biscayne," "Update". Miami: Historical Assocaiton of Southern Florida, Vol. 5, No. 3, February, 1978, pp. 6-8.

External links

* [http://www.floridastateparks.org/thebarnacle/default.cfm The Barnacle Historic State Park]