KEYS HISTORY: SNAILS & GARDEN FACED PRESSURES ON STOCK ISLAND
Editor’s note: This is the second in a two-part series on Stock Island.
Once upon a time, the Stock Island Tree Snail was native to Key West and...
KEYS HISTORY: WANDERING LIVESTOCK ON STOCK ISLAND
Editor’s note: This is the first in a two-part series on Stock Island.
Some say Stock Island was named after the livestock that had once been kept on...
KEYS HISTORY: STORMS TAKE SEVERAL SPANISH SHIPS BENEATH THE DEPTHS
The 1733 New Spain Fleet departed Havana en route to Spain on Friday, July 13. It was September. They sailed into a hurricane. Of the convoy’s 22...
KEYS HISTORY: THE CROCODILES ARE COMING BACK
Spoiler alert: the Florida Keys are a unique string of islands. To add one more reason, South Florida and the Keys are the only places in the...
KEYS HISTORY: ‘DOWNTOWN’ CARD SOUND BUSTLED WITH ACTIVITY
When State Road 4A opened to traffic in 1927, it was the only automobile route bridging the mainland to Key Largo. On the mainland, the road traveled...
KEYS HISTORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALABAMA JACK’S
Two roads lead in and out of Key Largo: the old railroad route and the old highway route. Eventually, both connect to the Overseas Highway, the asphalt...
KEYS HISTORY: LIMESTONE QUARRIES, HENRY FLAGLER AND DECORATIVE ROCK
It is no secret that Key West gets most of the shine in the Florida Keys. In everyday talk about the island chain, most conversations center on...
KEYS HISTORY: DISPUTES, DRAMA & A GUN DRAWN ON NO NAME KEY
Poet Robert Frost used the line “good fences make good neighbors” in his 1914 poem “Mending Fences.” While he was not the first to speak to the...
KEYS HISTORY: SPONGE PIRATES OF THE 1900s
Greek spongers, notably Captain George Bell, were interested in moving their operations to the fertile waters surrounding the Florida Keys. Key West Mayor Fogarty and the Key...
KEYS HISTORY: PIRACY TALK HIGHLIGHTS HEMINGWAY SEMINAR IN IDAHO
After months of anticipation and weeks of preparation, the big event has come and gone.
I packed a bag, flew to Idaho and delivered the closing keynote at...
