THE BAREFOOT MAILMAN STATUE - A1A IN HILLSBORO BEACH, FLORIDA
Posted by: 
unimoggers
N 26° 18.055 W 080° 04.701
17R E 592002 N 2909337
Quick Description: This is a wonderful statue with a great story behind it. It's located in front of Hillsboro's Town Hall. In most of the references to Hillsboro, it is spelled the original way. But now that town of Hillsborough is located on the west side of Florida.
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 6/16/2008 4:14:53 AM
Waymark Code: WM407H
Views: 50
Long Description:
From the Palm Beach News website:
• The 11 mailmen — who operated in South Florida in the late 1880s and early 1890s — earned about $175 every three months.
• Their bag: a lightweight canvas sack, a major concession by the Postal Service. (All other carriers were required to use the standard one made of cowhide.)
• To supplement their wages, some of the Barefoot Mailmen allowed a traveler to accompany them. They charged $5, a fee they felt was justified because the carrier was forced to slow down for the inexperienced walkers and ferry them across the various inlets.
• The first contract was "awarded" to Lake Worth-area settler (and later Dade County school superintendent) E.R. Bradley who shared the duties with his son, Louie. Bradley, a retired Chicago newsman, made one round trip per week for the salary of $600 per year.
• The route began on Monday morning in "Palm City" (now Palm Beach) where Bradley picked up the mail. From there he sailed down Lake Worth and disembarked near the present-day Boynton Inlet.
The Barefoot Mailman walked 5 miles across Boynton Beach and rested his first night at the Orange Grove House of Refuge just north of Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach. On Tuesday he walked 25 miles along the beach until he reached Hillsborough Inlet and crossed in a small boat he kept hidden in the bushes for his own personal use.
"At that time there was a strict, unwritten code against taking someone's boat and leaving it on the opposite shore," writes author Carmen Racine McGarry. "In South Florida such an act was comparable to stealing a horse in the Old West."
Alternating between foot and small boat he reached "Lemon City" (Miami) on Wednesday night and began his return early the next morning. The mail carrier reached "Palm City" by late Saturday, rested Sunday and started the arduous journey all over again on Monday.
• And the length of journey? The round trip was 136 miles — 80 by foot and 56 by boat.
Roadside Attractions Website: [Web Link]
Price of Admission: Not Listed
Weekday Hours: Not listed
Weekend Hours: Not listed
Location Website: Not listed
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