Munroe, Ralph Middleton, 1851-1933

After spending several winters in in the Miami area, Ralph Munroe took up permanent residence in the settlement that would become Coconut Grove in 1884. A renowed designer of sailboats, an nventor and photographer, he also made a living salvaging shipwrecks on the Florida reefs for the Coastal Wrecking Company.

Munroe was one of the founders of Coconut Grove and helped organize the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. Installed as club's first commodore, he was thereafter affectionately known as "The Commodore". A widower, he married Jessie Wirth in 1895, and with their children, Wirth and Patty, lived at The Barnacle which he had built in 1891. The family occupied the house until 1968 when it was sold at a nominal price to the Sate of Florida for use as a historic site and museum.