The Jupiter Inlet silted shut in 1854, forcing all building supplies to be shipped in light boats down the Indian River.

This strategic site did not go unnoticed by U.S. Army surveyors who in 1849 recommended the Jupiter Inlet area as a suitable place for military defenses.

President Franklin Pierce signed the order to set aside a 61½-acre site on the Fort Jupiter Reservation for a lighthouse in 1854.

The lighthouse and oil house construction was accomplished by Captain Edward Yorke, who arrived December 31, 1859 and completed the tower in May 1860.

This secret installation was designed to intercept German U-boat radio messages and warn Allied ships and help US forces attack enemy vessels.

[6] On January 11, 1972, the Loxahatchee River Historical Society (LRHS) was founded to preserve the area's history and it opened the Oil House Museum in June 1973.

The LRHS operated a small visitor center in the east end of the last remaining building of Station J, once used as living quarters for the military.

The LRHS, with a grant from the Florida Department of Transportation and in cooperation with the Town of Jupiter and the U.S. Coast Guard, started a major restoration project in 1999 to repair weather damage to the tower.

In 2006, in an agreement between the LRHS, Palm Beach County, and Town of Jupiter, the old World War II building in Lighthouse Park was renovated to become the new home of the Loxahatchee River Historical Society.

It was introduced into the United States House of Representatives by Congressman Tim Mahoney and co-sponsored by Congressmen Ron Klein and Alcee Hastings.

This legislation designates the lighthouse and 120 surrounding acres of sensitive habitat as an Outstanding Natural Area (ONA) in the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management's (BLM) National Landscape Conservation System.

The JILONA is cooperatively managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and local partners: Palm Beach County, Town of Jupiter, Village of Tequesta, Loxahatchee River Historical Society, U.S. Coast Guard and Jupiter High School's Environmental Research and Field Studies Academy.

Over the last decade, the group has accomplished a wealth of projects including lighthouse restoration, wetland reconstruction, river slope stabilization following hurricanes Frances and Jeanne, fuel hazard reduction and habitat improvement for endangered species, and proving the Jupiter Inlet Working Group a uniquely successful partnership.