House of Refuge at Gilbert's Bar
House of Refuge at Gilbert’s Bar
The House of Refuge at Gilbert’s Bar, also called Gilbert’s Bar House of Refuge or the House of Refuge Museum, is a historic building at 301 S.E. MacArthur Boulevard on Hutchinson Island near Stuart, Florida. It is the oldest surviving building in Martin County and the last remaining of Florida’s original dozen lifesaving stations along the Atlantic Coast.
Built in 1876, this station was part of the U.S. Life-Saving Service, a predecessor of the U.S. Coast Guard. It was created to help sailors in distress and kept watch along the coast for shipwrecks. The building stayed in use for nearly 70 years. Today, Martin County owns it and leases it to the Martin County Historical Society, which runs it as a museum showing lifesaving equipment and the keeper’s quarters (about 1904). It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 3, 1974.
Gilbert’s Bar sits on Saint Lucie Rocks, two miles north of the St. Lucie Inlet, on a famous rocky outcrop. The House of Refuge was one of ten such stations, and it’s the only one that still exists.
In 1875, land was granted for the site. The lifesaving houses were meant to rescue shipwreck survivors who would otherwise perish in the harsh coast. The keepers and their families often walked the beach to find castaways after storms.
The station helped during several famous shipwrecks. It sheltered the survivors of the Georges Valentine wreck in 1904, with Captain William E. Rea as keeper. Nearby, the Cosme Calzado wreck also produced survivors who joined the Georges Valentine group at the House of Refuge.
In 1915, the station became U.S. Coast Guard Station #207 when the Life-Saving Service merged with the Revenue Cutter Service. The keeper’s title changed to Surfman #1, and four other men worked there. In World War I, local youths joined the post as part of the Home Guard. The site also served as a lookout for enemy submarines in World War II.
The building was saved by the Historical Society of Martin County in 1955 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today the House of Refuge offers a glimpse into life along the coast at the turn of the 20th century. Public areas include the boathouse, kitchen, dining room, parlor, bedroom, and a lookout tower from World War II. A new exhibit space features a timeline of Hutchinson Island from 2000 BC to the hurricanes of 2004.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:35 (CET).