Cannon in Boca Raton off Red Reef some years back?

ou8acracker2

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So It was nice to see my 2 years old thread "Queens Dowry" still up and running. Its been WAY to long since this forum caught my attention...HOWEVER,


I was recently in Gumbo Limbo (I go to FAU) and saw a cannon in there and looked it up. Its from the 1715 fleet and was found at Red Reef Park....What on earth was that doing there? Can anyone give me some info on the cannon and why it was there?

I know there used to be an inlet right about there at highland beach a few hundred years ago but I cant see why there would be a cannon there.


P.S - if anyone in the area needs an intern or has part time work in the finance/banking field, I am getting my MBA in finance. I just figured I would throw that out there ;-)
 

Galleon Hunter

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Early 19[SUP]th[/SUP] Century. Both research and physical evidence suggest the existence of an as yet unidentified British frigate wrecked off Highland Beach. The wreck is reportedly located in close proximity to an area known as Yamato Rock.[1] Daryl Wilmoth, a resident of Boca Raton discovered a 5-foot iron cannon and a large exposed ballast pile off the beach following Hurricane Cleo in 1967. Wilmoth was diving on the ballast pile with a friend about three months after the hurricane, when he discovered the exposed cannon in about ten feet of water. Wilmoth reportedly located the cannon at the north edge of the Ocean Hearth Restaurant. He returned to the site and was able to raise the cannon using 55-gallon oil drums and float it to the city launching ramp on Palmetto Park Road. The gun turned out to be a 4-pounder cannon. Wilmoth later discovered markings on it that revealed its weight (837 pounds) and where it was cast (London). With the help of experts at the Smithsonian Institution, Wilmoth also learned that the makers of the cannon were Bailey, Pegg & Co., and that the company operated in London and Staffordshire, England. The Bailey, Pegg & Co. Foundry operated in London between 1812-1866, initially at the Gunwharf, Wapping, then laterally at 81 Bankside, SE. They specialized in supplying iron guns to arm merchant ships and also to the established trading post in faraway places. Wilmoth displayed the cannon at his marine shop in Boca Raton for many years. Eventually, the cannon was placed in storage in his garage until a proper home could be found. He approached the Boca Raton Historical Society but nothing much was ever done and the cannon didn’t go anywhere. Finally, in 1993 Wilmoth decided to clean out his garage, something he had been putting off for years. He decided to donate the gun to the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. (Note: For additional reading see “Shipwreck Relic Boca Diver Donates Cannon He Recovered to Gumbo Limbo” by Sherri Winston in Sun Sentinel, January 15, 1993. The Ocean Hearth was located on A1A one mile north of Palmetto Park Road according to an advertisement found in the Palm Beach Post dated April 12, 1965.) (500)


[1] Although the rock is depicted on a USGS Delray Beach Topographical map as “Jap Rock” and is often referred to as “Jap Rock” or “Japanese Rock” by local boaters and divers, according the USGS the politically correct name of the place is Yamato Rock. Located within the town of highland Beach, northeast of Boca Raton and 1.9 miles southeast of the community of Yamato; the name honors the Japanese settlers who settled Palm Beach County in the early 20[SUP]th[/SUP] century. The Yamato Colony was an attempt to create a community of Japanese farmers in what is now Boca Raton. Florida officials recruited young Japanese men to settle the area but due to various difficulties the colony never grew very large. Henry Flagler created the Model Land Company to hold title to land granted to his Florida East Coast Railway and sold the land to recent immigrants to increase business for his railroad. Jo Sakai, a native of Miyazu, Japan graduated from New York University and later purchased 1,000 acres of land from the Model Land Company in 1903. He recruited immigrants from his hometown. Many eagerly sought a better life in a new land. Several hundred Japanese farmers grew pineapples. The crop was shipped via the railroad. However, a pineapple blight destroyed the crop 1908. To compound the problem, the farmers had difficulty competing with the cheaper and earlier ripening pineapples imported from Cuba. The colony gradually declined until it was dispersed after the onset of World War II.

Hope this helps
 

mad4wrecks

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gl cannon 01.jpg gl cannon 02.jpg

This cannon is not from the 1715 fleet. And per Steve Singer, there is an admiralty claim in that area.
 

Smithbrown

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May 22, 2006
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Are we talking about two different cannon here, or two different attributions? Bailey, Pegg and Company cast cannon well into the 19th century and the company lasted in the 1980s, but they certainly didn't cast the illustrated cannon here.

Smithbrown
 

mad4wrecks

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Sorry for the confusion. We were talking about a cannon from a suspected 18th century Spanish shipwreck. But as Galleon Hunter pointed out, there is a British shipwreck (and cannon) too. Both found on the beach after storms in the same area.
 

Smithbrown

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THanks for that; the illustrated cannon dates from about 1700 give or take 15 years either side.

As for Bailey Pegg, as far as I know, Pegg didn't become a partner until 1836 and the Company specialized in guns for export and merchant ship, so I would like for a slightly later date for your wreck, c 1840-50-ish, not necessarily British- they sold a lot abroad, and definitely not a frigate- armed merchant possibly.

Smithbrown
 

Joetrikke

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So It was nice to see my 2 years old thread "Queens Dowry" still up and running. Its been WAY to long since this forum caught my attention...HOWEVER,


I was recently in Gumbo Limbo (I go to FAU) and saw a cannon in there and looked it up. Its from the 1715 fleet and was found at Red Reef Park....What on earth was that doing there? Can anyone give me some info on the cannon and why it was there?

I know there used to be an inlet right about there at highland beach a few hundred years ago but I cant see why there would be a cannon there.


P.S - if anyone in the area needs an intern or has part time work in the finance/banking field, I am getting my MBA in finance. I just figured I would throw that out there ;-)

I know this was an old post but I have been trying to find any information on the old inlet that you said was around Highland beach area a few hundred years ago. I have not been able to find anything. Do you or anyone else have and information?
Thank You.
 

OsanLeien

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Jan 29, 2021
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Hi there. I'm new to this site. I was in search of a shipwreck and stumbled upon this forum. I don't know anything about the inlet you seek. Buy I happened to find information regarding proof of a 17th century shipwreck in the Boca Raton area which could relate to the 1641 Spanish Fleet carrying spanish coin.
 

TRG

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Hi there. I'm new to this site. I was in search of a shipwreck and stumbled upon this forum. I don't know anything about the inlet you seek. Buy I happened to find information regarding proof of a 17th century shipwreck in the Boca Raton area which could relate to the 1641 Spanish Fleet carrying spanish coin.

Anything you can share?
 

SteveS

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Apr 29, 2007
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Jack Pennell found the Spanish cannon after a storm cut the beach in Boca and then donated it to the city and now at Gumbo Limbo park (nothing to date it back to 1641 but possible). The British cannon Darryl found was from a different wreck but in same general area. Photos of some artifacts from both wrecks and others in this area in books "Shipwrecks of Florida" & "More Shipwrecks of Florida." Lots of stories of coins found in this area, but I've never found any older coins or seen any found from this area. There's stories of a treasure hoard found during construction of Red Reef Golf Course, and of some lobster divers recovering a cannon encrusted with hundreds of silver coins way back when. We've located a number of shipwrecks in the area and think Jack's (17th-18th century) wreck is mixed in with a 19th century wreck. Please visit: www.anchorexplorations.com
 

Salvor6

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Steve just got your book More Shipwrecks of Florida and I started reading it. FANTASTIC! There is a lot of info in there. Thanks for publishing it.
 

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