Paul Kroegal
(1864-1948)

Died aged c. 84

Paul Kroegal was born January 9, 1864, the son of a German immigrant who homesteaded in the Sebastian area in 1881. Kroegal studied navigation and obtained his captain’s papers when he was 21. He was the first County commissioner of St. Lucie County in 1905, and was chairman of the board that built the first paved road from Micco to Stuart and the first bridge across the Sebastian River. Opposed to the shooting of pelicans for plumes, he campaigned to protect them, which resulted in a 1901state law protecting all non-game birds. On March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt issued an Executive Order setting aside Pelican Island as a nature preserve and breeding ground for native birds. Kroegal was appointed the first National Wildlife Refuge warden in America. He held this position until 1926. Paul Kroegal died March 8, 1948 at his Sebastian home.

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