Charlie Pierce was the son of Hannibal Dillingham Pierce and Margretta Louise Moore . Born in Waukegan , Illinois , Pierce 's family moved to Chicago . Pierce 's uncle , William H. Moore , told the Pierce family of the warm Florida weather , and how he believed it would cure his developing tuberculosis . Hannibal Pierce purchased a sailing vessel ( the Fairy Belle ) for the family to sail down the Mississippi River towards Florida . Just as they were preparing for the trip , the Great Chicago Fire consumed most of the city , but not the Pierce boat . The family set sail and eventually moored at Cedar Key . Hannibal Pierce sold the boat and the family went by train and steamer to Sand Point ( Titusville , Florida ) . They camped for several weeks on the Indian River until a fire destroyed their possessions . Hannibal Pierce then accepted a position as an assistant lighthouse keeper at the Jupiter Lighthouse . After serving at the Jupiter Lighthouse for a year , Hannibal Pierce homesteaded a large portion of Hypoluxo Island , located in the Lake Worth Lagoon . At the time of their homestead claim , the island had no name . In conversations with the Seminole Indians , Hannibal Pierce learned that the name was Hypoluxo , which meant " water all around , no get out . " Here the family built a house from driftwood and palmetto thatch . Hannibal Pierce became the keeper of the Orange Grove House of Refuge , in what would become Delray Beach . The United States federal government built five Houses of Refuge in Florida to care for shipwrecked sailors . It was at the House of Refuge that the first child of European descent was born , Lillie Pierce ( Lillie Pierce Voss ) , in 1876 . The Pierce family returned to its Hypoluxo Island homestead . Pierce led many expeditions through the Everglades on hunting and fishing trips , being one of the first to explore what would become Everglades National Park . Pierce began piloting boats through the inland route to Titusville , the main point of trade on the lower Florida east coast at that time . Pierce entered the U.S. Postal Service in 1886 , starting as assistant postmaster at Hypoluxo . In 1888 , he became one of the famed " Barefoot Mailmen " ( a term he was the first to use , in 1939 ) who walked the beaches and crossed the rivers between Hypoluxo and Miami , a trek of over . In 1893 , Pierce began captaining the mail steamer " Hypoluxo " which delivered mail through the Lake Worth Region along the length of the inland waterway . Pierce also farmed tracts on Hypoluxo Island on his homestead . In 1895 , Pierce moved to Boynton , Florida , where he had a dry goods store near the Florida East Coast railway station . In his store he also served as town postmaster , a career that spanned more than 30 years . He served from 1900 until 1903 , then from 1908 until his passing in 1939 . Pierce also served as president of the Bank of Boynton , and was one of the first masters of the Masonic Lodge in Boynton Beach
Great Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
Charlie W. Pierce