Key Biscayne and the Cape Florida Light 

Between 1821 and 1825 the most frequent departure point for runaway slaves seeking freedom in the Bahamas was Key Biscayne. At the time, the area had no white inhabitants with the closest settlement after 1823 being Coole Hammock on the New River in what is now Fort Lauderdale. 

By 1825, an estimated 1,000 runaways had reached Andros Island via Key Biscayne. 

As a result, the US built the Cape Florida Light in 1825, which is now in Bill Baggs State Park on Key Biscayne. The lighthouse was a deterrent to escaping runaways. 

Other departure points in southeast Florida

However, the runaways continued escaping to the Bahamas via southern Florida, using other departure points including Jupiter and Hillsboro Inlets. Jupiter Inlet in particular was used as it connected to the Indian River Lagoon, giving runaways the opportunity to escape from points north and take a water highway all the way to the Bahamas. 

American privateers sailed the waters around Florida’s Atlantic coast looking for runaways to capture and return to their masters for a reward. This business became especially lucrative for some after the formal British abolition of slavery. 

Seminoles support of the Saltwater Railroad 

The Seminole tribe of Florida was very much supportive of the saltwater railroad unlike other native tribes that often cooperated with American authorities when it came to enforcing slavery. 

For many years the Seminole had a group known to history as the “Black Seminoles” that had been runaways.  During this period, after the US conquest of Florida, many of them escaped to the Bahamas.  

The Seminoles were adept at building makeshift boats or rafts to sail through the rivers and lagoons of Florida and into the open ocean to the Bahamas. 

Into the era of the Second Seminole War (1835-1842) the Black Seminoles played a role with the natives as they tried to hold their land. But as most Seminole were forced to relocate to Oklahoma, it appears the majority of Black Seminole used the saltwater railroad as a means to escape.