on the Florida coast. Construction and equipment The houses were built of Florida pine, using 8x8 heartwood timbers for the foundation and frame, and clapboard siding. They were intended to withstand hurricanes, although at least two of them were destroyed by hurricanes in later years. Each building was surrounded by a roofed veranda. The main floor was divided into four rooms, and a wide porch surrounded three sides of the building. At the north end a kitchen with a fireplace and brick chimney interrupted the veranda. The rest of the main floor was divided into the dining room, next to the kitchen, the living room, and at the south end, the bedroom. All the stations were alike and all the Keepers used the rooms in the same manner. The station keeper's family occupied the main floor. The attic was a dormitory for ship-wrecked sailors, equipped with 20 cots with bedding, dried and salted provisions to feed 20 men for 10 days, chests of medicines, and chests of books. Clothing, often heavier than was appropriate for the climate in Florida, was also stored for the use of shipwrecked sailors. A brick cistern collected rain from the roof of the house to supply drinking water. A second building held two life-boats, breeches buoy tackle and flares for signaling. While the houses were equipped with lifesaving equipment, they were intended as passive refuges for sailors who made it to land, and not as active lifesaving stations. Operations The keepers of the houses of refuge were civilian contractors. They were expected to have a family living with them, to help with the duties of the station, and to relieve the loneliness of the isolated locations. The regulations for operation of the houses of refuge required the keepers to be resident throughout the year. The keepers were required to keep a daily weather log and record the number of ships passing by the station. Immediately after a storm, the keepers and "such members of their families as are available", were to search the beach for shipwrecks and "persons cast ashore". Locations The first five houses of refuge, built in 1876, were along the southeastern coast of Florida. Early settlers commonly referred to those houses by their numbers. Indian River or Bethel Creek, House of Refuge No. 1 (), was north of the Indian River Inlet (now known as the Fort Pierce Inlet) in present-day Vero