Peanut Island
Encyclopedia
Lake Worth Inlet
The Lake Worth Inlet is an artificial cut through a barrier island connecting the northern part of the Lake Worth Lagoon in Palm Beach County, Florida with the Atlantic Ocean. It is bordered by the town of Palm Beach on the south, and by the town of Palm Beach Shores to the north. The inlet is also...
in Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County, Florida
Palm Beach County is the largest county in the state of Florida in total area, and third in population. As of 2010, the county's estimated population was 1,320,134, making it the twenty-eighth most populous in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The island was created by dredging
Dredge
Dredging is an excavation activity or operation usually carried out at least partly underwater, in shallow seas or fresh water areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location...
-related projects in 1918 which also created the inlet and the Port of Palm Beach
Port of Palm Beach
The Port of Palm Beach is located in Riviera Beach, Florida, in Palm Beach County. The Port is an independent taxing district, with a five-member board of commissioners elected at large by voters within the district. The Port district covers a land area of or approximately fifty percent of the...
.
Originally named Inlet Island, the island was renamed Peanut Island for a planned peanut oil-shipping operation which failed in 1946. A $13 million USD
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
renovation on the island in 2005 resulted in Peanut Island Park including camp sites, a pier
Pier
A pier is a raised structure, including bridge and building supports and walkways, over water, typically supported by widely spread piles or pillars...
, and a manmade reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
. The island also features a blast shelter
Blast shelter
A blast shelter is a place where people can go to protect themselves from bomb blasts. It differs from a fallout shelter, in that its main purpose is to protect from shock waves and overpressure, instead of from radioactive precipitation, as a fallout shelter does...
built in secret for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
shortly after his 1960 election
United States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
. Kennedy often spent winters in nearby Palm Beach, Florida
Palm Beach, Florida
The Town of Palm Beach is an incorporated town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The Intracoastal Waterway separates it from the neighboring cities of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth...
. The shelter is operated by the Palm Beach Maritime Museum and is open to visitors as an example of Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-era concerns for the president's safety.
External links
- Peanut Island Park Palm Beach County Parks & Recreation website
- Pnutparty.com Everything Peanut Island, Events and Discussion Groups
- http://sites.google.com/site/peanutislandrocks Photos, video, countdown, and Tiki band information on Peanut!