The earliest known records of the Jupiter Inlet date to 1565. When Spanish explorers first arrived in this area, they found the Jega Indians living along the banks of the inlet and Loxahatchee River. The Indians called themselves the Jobe, so the visitors named the river running into the inlet the Jobe River, after the tribe. When English settlers found the area around 1763, Jobe sounded to them like the mythological god Jove, or Jupiter, and the name Jupiter remains today.
In the 1800s Jupiter’s most identifiable landmark, the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, was erected. The lighthouse stands 108 feet tall with 105 steps to climb. The land that is now Lighthouse Park was once a part of Fort Jupiter, a military installation that was formed during the Seminole Indian Wars. The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse was renovated in 2000 and painted its original brick-red color.
