to swim across the inlet to retrieve his boat from the far side. His body was never recovered. A "stranger from the north", identified by House of Refuge keeper Charles Coman, was suspected of having taken Hamilton's boat across the inlet and leaving it on the south side. The stranger was later charged with tampering with government property (Hamilton's row boat). Tried in Federal Court in Jacksonville, the "stranger" was acquitted and therefore his name was never entered in the court records. After Hamilton's disappearance, Andrew Garnett, who had previously been the postmaster at Hypoluxo, successfully bid for the barefoot route contract. Charles William Pierce substituted for Garnett when he could not travel the route. Other men who have been reported as carriers on the barefoot route included George Charter, Bob Douthit, Dan Kelly, Dan McCarley, Frederick Matthaus, Otto Matthaus, Edward "Ned" Peat, George Sears and a man known only as Stafford. Henry John Burkhardt was the last barefoot mailman. Commemorations Town of Hypoluxo The welcome signs (three in succession) of the Town of Hypoluxo, incorporated in 1955, said "Welcome to Hypoluxo – home of the Barefoot Mailman". Historical marker A Florida state history marker, located at Boca Raton on the grounds of the Spanish River State Park, honors barefoot mailmen. Statue The original stone statue of the Barefoot Mailman by Frank Varga was permanently displayed on the shores of the Hillsboro inlet next to the Hillsboro Inlet Light with the following inscription: In Memory ofJames E. HamiltonUnited States Mail CarrierWho Lost His Life Herein Line of DutyOctober 11, 1887 On March 19, 2012 during an HLPS tour, Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society President Art Makenian and artist Frank Varga unveiled a bronze 8-foot tall statue on a 5-foot tall black galaxy granite pedestal that replaced the 40-year-old Athena stone version, which had incurred significant damage due to age, weather and vandalism. Post office mural In 1939 the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts contracted with Stevan Dohanos to paint six murals depicting the "Legend of James Edward Hamilton, Mail Carrier" in the West Palm Beach, Florida Post Office. Charles W. Pierce, who had been one of the carriers on the "barefoot route", was Postmaster in Boynton Beach, Florida at the time, and corresponded with Dohanos, providing photos of James Hamilton in the clothes he wore on the "barefoot route". Dohanos later recalled that Pierce first used the term "barefoot mailman"