How much of the restored House of Refuge have you seen yet? The building closed for close to a year, and it reopened on May 23, 2026, which was the start of summer and the quietest stretch of the year on the island.
So November is the first full season for the restored House. It also brings something the old museum never had: a monthly lecture series built around the stories in its own rooms. The Historical Society of Martin County is running the reopened House as a museum you come back to every few weeks. In past years it was mostly a stop for houseguests, and the calendar through April shows the change.
What $1.8 Million Actually Fixed
The House of Refuge at Gilbert's Bar was built in 1876. It is the oldest building in Martin County and the last surviving House of Refuge in Florida. It turned 150 on March 10, 2026, while it was still closed for restoration.
The repairs were extensive. In March, Keeper of the House Catherine Larsen told WPTV that the building had survived 150 years and 75 major storms but needed far more than one repair:
"It wasn't just one thing that had deteriorated; it was a lot of the house, the roof, the flooring, windows. The house was almost considered to be in historic ruin."
Martin County commissioners committed nearly $1.8 million to the work. The House is on the National Register of Historic Places, so the crews kept the original beams that the weather hadn't destroyed and matched the 1876 design. When the House reopened, TCPalm listed a new roof, a revived main deck and other structural improvements. CBS12 reported new windows, doors and decking in March, when the work was nearly done.
All five Martin County commissioners came to the ribbon cutting. So did representatives of REG Architects and The Tradesmen Group, the firms behind the restoration. The Historical Society says more than 3,500 guests came through the doors between the end of May and its September Keeper's report. That count covers the hottest, slowest months on the island.
Three New Rooms Worth the Drive
The building is restored, and the museum inside it has also been rearranged.
The biggest change is The Tempest on the lower level. It is an immersive installation built around Of Storm and Splendor, a mural by local artist Ralph Papa. Light, sound and atmosphere recreate a ship struggling through a storm, with crashing waves, thunder, snapping sails and wind in the rigging. It shows why the U.S. Life-Saving Service built houses of refuge along this coast in the first place, and the Historical Society calls it one of the House's most talked-about experiences.
Two other exhibits are new:
- Ross Witham, Martin County's "Turtle Man." This exhibit honors a World War II veteran who served as the state's marine turtle coordinator from 1963 to 1987 and was one of the country's earliest sea turtle conservationists.
- Lightships. This pop-up in the Quarters covers the floating lighthouses that were anchored near shoals and reefs where a lighthouse couldn't be built. The first U.S. lightship went out off Virginia in 1820, and the fleet eventually grew to 56 vessels.
Other galleries cover the Native American peoples who first lived on this coast, the legend of the pirate Don Pedro Gilbert, the German U-boats that were offshore during World War II, and the keepers who once watched over this remote station. That list matters for the next section, because the lecture calendar picks up those same stories.
The Lecture Calendar Follows the Galleries
The Oceanside Lecture Series is held at the House itself. Each talk takes one story from the museum and gives it a full session with a speaker who knows it well:
| Date | Speaker | Subject | Where it connects in the House |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed., Nov. 4, 2026 | Catherine Larsen, Keeper of the House | "Welcome Back," the restoration from the inside | The restored building itself |
| Mon., Dec. 7, 2026 | Marie Kennedy | "Saved by the Soroptimists," how the Stuart Soroptimists helped save the House and make it a museum | The museum's own origin |
| Mon., Jan. 11, 2027 | Al Simbritz | The Roaring Twenties, Prohibition, rum-running and William "Bill" McCoy | Coastal history off Gilbert's Bar |
| Wed., Feb. 3, 2027 | Rob Urbanovich | Don Pedro Gilbert, the pirate behind the legend | The Gilbert gallery |
| Wed., Mar. 3, 2027 | Julie Witham Hartwiger | Memories of her parents, Ross and Mabel Witham | The new Turtle Man exhibit |
| Wed., Apr. 21, 2027 | John Wakeman | Anastasia limestone and intertidal marine life | The rocky shoreline just outside |
The March talk shows the pattern best. In May the museum opened a room about Ross Witham, and ten months later his daughter comes to talk about him and her mother. If you see the exhibit this winter, you'll get more out of the talk in March.
The series also includes a panel. On Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2027, the House hosts "Turning the Tides," a discussion of conservation and Florida's coastal environment with Capt. Mike Holliday, Mark D. Perry, Jacqui Thurlow-Lippisch and Rufus Wakeman.
The Nov. 4 Talk Is the One to Book Now
The series opens Wednesday, Nov. 4, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. Larsen will take the audience through the past 11 months of work, using visual updates from the Historical Society's Chronicles of a Restoration series, and there will be time for questions. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for nonmembers, and the talk is limited to 35 attendees.
Thirty-five seats is a tiny share of the 3,500 people who visited over the summer, so this talk will likely sell out. Tickets are sold through the Historical Society's event page.
The logistics are different from a regular visit. A shuttle runs from the Elliott Museum to the House of Refuge. The Historical Society asks attendees to arrive at the Elliott Museum up to an hour before the lecture because shuttle space is limited. That puts a 1:30 talk at roughly 12:30 p.m. at 825 NE Ocean Boulevard, so plan lunch around it.
Bringing Guests This Season
The reopened House is also worth knowing about for the houseguests season brings. The Historical Society's ticketing page lists these prices:
- House of Refuge only: $12 adults, $10 seniors 65 and older, $8 ages 6 to 12
- Combined Elliott Museum and House of Refuge: $30 adults, $26 seniors, $16 ages 6 to 12
- Free: children 5 and under, veterans, and active-duty U.S. military with ID
The combined ticket works best when the Elliott has a reason to stay a while. Its Society of Animal Artists 66th Annual Exhibition runs through Dec. 11 and is included with regular admission. A Land Remembered opens at the Elliott on Dec. 2 and runs through Aug. 31, 2027. Guests who visit between Dec. 2 and Dec. 11 can see both exhibitions in one afternoon.
Before you go, call the House at 772-225-1875 for its current hours. Leave time for the Boathouse Gift Shop, which has been restocked with maritime books, decoupage pieces, notecards and nautical gifts.
The Free Shipwreck About 100 Yards Out
The Georges Valentine, an Italian brigantine, wrecked here, and its survivors were among the people the House sheltered. The wreck still lies about 100 yards off the rocky shoreline. The Historical Society says visitors can park at the House and walk to an entry point about 100 yards south.
The wreck is one of Florida's underwater archaeological preserves. The Florida Department of State says these preserves are free and open to the public year-round, and the Museums in the Sea listing for the Georges Valentine gives coordinates and dive notes. A recent Keeper's report says that on clear days the wreck's shadow is visible from shore.
The House also has more staff than before. Kenda Bedford has returned as a second Assistant Keeper, and Larsen has written that she plans to expand programming this season. She has also invited people in the community with a subject they care about to propose a talk. The lineup through April is set, but residents may be able to add to it.
The House of Refuge had to replace its roof, flooring, windows and decking because 150 years of salt air wore them down. Coastal homes on this island face the same wear on a shorter timeline. If you'd like to know how the condition of your home's roof, windows and outdoor living spaces affects its value today, Trisha Hutchinson brings more than 15 years of construction and permitting experience to that conversation. Get Your Home Valuation, and we'll go over what your property's condition means for its value.
