He sold the property which he had inherited from his mother. There are no additional records mentioning Oregon until December 7, 1911, when With the death of his mother, Oregon inherited these two pieces ofīoarder with a “b” by Oregon’s name until 1890 when he became an owner, marked George Street facing Maria Sanchez Creek. Property: one on Charlotte Street and the other just behind it on south St. Mother, Mary Dunham, located on Charlotte Street behind the St. Augustine, and most of the city directories mention him as a To Oregon Dunham? As in the case of William Russell, Dunham remains an elusiveįigure in historical records. The Keeper’s Log does not record any major incidents for well over a year after Harn’s arrival and appointment. Although there is no mention in the Keeper’s Log of the removal of Oregon Dunham, we do know that it took place prior to Harn’s arrival. In fact, on November 18, 1875, a new Keeper named William Harn arrived to take command of the Light Station. Since the tower was relatively new, the Light House Service was bound to be concerned about the job Keeper Dunham was doing. On the July 28 visit, the Captain Inspector, in his own hand, wrote in the log, “Written the Principal + assistants are to absent themselves from the station until all work is finished and the light + appurtenances are ready for inspection.” In the Light Station Service, multiple visits from the Lampist hinted at a problem perhaps with the light itself however, multiples visits by the Inspector General within a few months’ time, meant that something was fundamentally wrong with the way the station was run. Each visit apparently entailed repairs to the site. The log records that the light was back in operation by June 26, 1875, following a visit by the United States Lampist who “placed in perfect order.” The log also records that the Captain Inspector, AEK Benham, made two more visits to the light station, once on July 28 and another on August 29. Thus, the light station could not display its night mark. The tower was literally less than a year old when on June 21, 1875, “a little after two o’clock the weight of the mechanical lamp fell through the receiving well carrying the bottom off of the flange and fell into revolving machinery thereby springing some of the shafts so badly as to prevent the ‘revolving’ of the lens.” Although the extent of the damage is not known, the result was that the light ran only as a fixed light, meaning that the lens did not rotate. Within a few months of Dunham’s appointment as Head Keeper, an accident took place. A Dunham Family photo courtesy of the St.Nevertheless, the Keeper’s Log provides some hints to the cause. Such a personnel change may suggest contentious issues at the station however, we have no record of what prompted Dunham’s dismissal. In order to fill the vacancy, Second Assistant Daniel Mickler was promoted to First Assistant. Canova stayed only a few months and then resigned. Canova, received a promotion to First Assistant. Once he received the appointment as Head Keeper, the Second Assistant Keeper, Philip J. He began working at the light station on October 15, 1874, as the First Assistant Keeper under Keeper Russell. Dunham’s family connections certainly placed him at the top of the applicant pool. ![]() Augustine often depended less on skill and training than upon connections with the rich and powerful. As William Russell discovered, government jobs in St. ![]() Oregon Dunham certainly had the pedigree to position himself into a government job such as the Keeper at St. Lighthouse Keeper “Oregon” Francis Philip Fatio Dunham and family/friends are shown on the base of the first lighthouse, which had fallen in the ocean, with the new St. By November 18, a new Keeper, William Harn, arrived. ![]() On April 15, Dunham accepted the official appointment as Keeper of the St. On April 1, 1875, William Russell and his family moved out of the tower and delivered the keys to then-Assistant Keeper Dunham. ![]() Interestingly, of all the Lighthouse Keepers, Oregon Dunham held the shortest tenure at the station. The Dunhams proved to be one of several prominent families in Florida’s history. His father, David Ross Dunham, born in New York City, came to Florida to oversee his family’s sugar plantation in New Smyrna. His mother, Mary, was the daughter of his namesake, Francis Philip Fatio, who arrived in Florida during the American Revolution. “Oregon” was a nickname for Francis Philip Fatio Dunham. Augustine Evening Record read an entertaining interview with 68 year old Oregon Dunham offering “very interesting reminiscences” from a man “whose remarkable memory…retained so much of what happened in the earlier days.” Dunham recalled significant events in the Oldest City, including the Civil War and some of the local folklore.
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