Kirk Munroe (September 15, 1850 – June 16, 1930) was an American writer and conservationist.

Biography

Born Charles Kirk Munroe in a log cab near

Prairie du Chien Prairie du Chien () is a city in and the county seat of Crawford County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,506 at the 2020 census. Its ZIP Code is 53821. Often referred to as Wisconsin's second oldest city, Prairie du Chien was esta ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, Munroe was the son of Charles and Susan (Hall) Munroe. His youth was spent on the frontier, after which his family moved to

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

where he attended school until he was sixteen. He publicly dropped "Charles" from his name in 1883. In 1876, Kirk Munroe was hired as a reporter for the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

''. Three years later he became the first editor of ''

Harper's Young People ''Harper's Young People'' was an American children's magazine between 1879 and 1899. The first issue appeared in the fall of 1879. It was published by Harper & Brothers. It was Harper's fourth magazine to be established, after ''Harper's Magazine' ...

'' magazine; he resigned in 1881. From 1879 to 1884, he was the commodore of New York Canoe club. During this time he helped found the

League of American Wheelmen The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education. A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...

with Charles E. Pratt on May 31, 1880. Munroe was the Wheelmen's first Commander. He married Mary Barr, daughter of Amelia E. Barr on September 15, 1883. The couple settled in

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as The Grove, is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, S ...

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in 1886. Mary accompanied him on several cruises on the '' Allapata'', a thirty-five foot sharpie-ketch sailboat designed by Ralph Middleton Munroe. While in Florida, Munroe became a noted member of the Florida Audubon Society, and recommended a family friend

Guy Bradley Guy Morrell Bradley (April 25, 1870 – July 8, 1905) was an American game warden and deputy sheriff for Monroe County, Florida. Born in Chicago, Illinois, he relocated to Florida with his family when he was young. As a boy, he often ...

to the position as game warden in southern Florida. Bradley was later killed by

plume hunter Plume hunting is the hunting of wild birds to harvest their feathers, especially the more decorative plume (feather), plumes which were sold for use as ornamentation, such as aigrettes in hatmaking, millinery. The movement against the plume tra ...

s while on duty in the Everglades. Munroe built a tennis court on his property. It was the first tennis court in Miami-Dade county. Munroe helped establish what is today called

Ransom Everglades School Ransom Everglades School is an independent, non-profit, co-educational, college-preparatory day school serving grades six to twelve in Coconut Grove in Miami, Florida. It formed with the merger in 1974 of the Everglades School for Girls and the ...

. After Mary died in September 1922, he married his second wife, Mabel Stearns, in 1924. Kirk Munroe died in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

on June 16, 1930 at the age of 79. He was buried next to his first wife, Mary at

Woodlawn Park Cemetery Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum is one of the oldest cemeteries in Miami, Florida. Woodlawn Park Cemetery-North was established in 1913 by three pioneers in Miami’s early history – Thomas O. Wilson, William N. Urme ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Legacy

The city of Miami's only tennis park is named ''Kirk Munroe Park'' and is located at 3101 Florida Avenue in Coconut Grove. The Library of Congress holds the papers of Kirk Munroe.Kitchens 2011

Bibliography

*''Wakulla'' (1886) *''The Flamingo Feather'' (1887) *''Derrick Sterling'' (1888) *''Chrystal Jack & Co and Delta Bixby'' (1889) *''The Golden Days of '49'' (1889) *''Dorymates'' (1890) *''Under Orders'' (1890) *''Prince Dusty'' (1891) *''Campmates'' (1891) *''Canoemates'' (1892) *''Cab and Caboose'' (1892) *''Raftmates'' (1893) *''The White Conquerors of Mexico'' (1894) *''The Coral Ship'' (1893) *''The Fur-Seal's Tooth'' (1894) *''Big Cypress'' (1894) *''Snow Shoes and Sledges'' (1895) *''At War with Pontiac'' (1895) *''Rick Dale'' (1896) *''Through Swamp and Glade'' (1896) *''The Painted Desert'' (1897) *''With Crockett and Bowie'' (1897) *''Ready Rangers'' (1897) *''The Copper Princess'' (1898) *''In Pirate Waters'' (1898) *''Shine Terrill'' (1899) *''Forward March'' (1899) *''Midshipman Stuart'' (1899) *''Brethren of the Coast'' (1900) *''Under the Great Bear'' (1900) *''The Belt of Seven Totems'' (1901) *''A Son of Satsuma'' (1901) *''The Blue Dragon'' (1905) *''For the Mikado, or A Japanese Middy in Action'' (1905)

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * Leonard, Irving A. ''The Florida Adventures of Kirk Munroe''. Chuluota, FL: Mickler House, 1975. * McIver, Stuart. ''One Hundred Years on Biscayne Bay''. Coconut Grove, FL: Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, 1987. * Munroe, Ralph Middleton and Gilpin, Vincent. ''The Commodore's Story''. (New York): Ives Washburn, 1930.

External links

* * *
Detailed bibliography

February 1898 Article: Some Americans from oversea by Kirk Munroe

* ttp://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms012009 Kirk Munroe Papers, 1850-1940; (bulk 1867-1932) Washington, District of Columbia: Library of Congress {{DEFAULTSORT:Munroe, Kirk 19th-century American novelists 20th-century American novelists American male novelists Novelists from Florida 1850 births 1930 deaths 19th-century American male writers 20th-century American male writers People from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin Novelists from Wisconsin Writers from Miami