Keys History: Fort Paulding’s two Islands and one fort
Military forts have long stood in the Florida Keys. The four prominent ones, Fort Zachary Taylor, Fort Jefferson, Fort East Martello and Fort West...
Keys History: The origin of Fantasy Fest
Key West’s 1978 summer tourist season was one of the best on record. When the summer of 1979 rolled around, people hoped the trend...
Keys History: Cutting through Key Largo
Two excellent places to see the limestone underbelly of the Florida Keys are Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park and the Marvin D....
Keys History: Henry Flagler’s island legacy
Henry Flagler and the Key West Extension of his Florida East Coast Railway altered the history of the Florida Keys. Before his train came...
Keys History: The curious case of the Key lemon
When it comes to buying bags of birdseed, peanuts are a common ingredient. Blue jays love them. Squirrels do, too. While I am not...
Key West Back in the Day: The Island of Lost Laundry
Jimmy Buffett dreamed up the Island of Lost Laundry, and it was a perfect example of his extraordinary creativity. He mentioned the mythical island in...
Keys History: Who owned Indian Key?
When Florida became a territory of the United States, any land not subject to a Spanish Land Grant became government property. There were a...
Keys History: Recalling the railways and the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
It is safe to say that Henry Flagler was tickled when his private railcar, the Flagler Special, rolled into the Key West station at...
Key West Back in the Day: The duck on a stick
One of the best birthday presents I ever bought anybody was a duck on a stick. It wasn't a decision involving long forethought. After all,...
Keys History: The Great Hurricane of 1846
People say the Florida Keys have no seasons. It simply is not true. Seasons here aren’t limited to the traditional ones found in other...
