Henry Flagler’s railroad
KEY WEST HISTORY
While construction of Henry Flagler’s railroad had begun years prior, it was not until 1910 that the first railroad spike was hammered into the Key...
The Overseas Highway
There have been many versions of the Overseas Highway. When it opened to public use in 1928, the original path followed the Card Sound route. The 18-Mile...
THE LIGHTHOUSE
KEY WEST
Some 70 miles southwest of Key West are the Dry Tortugas, where two lighthouses have been erected. The first, built in 1825, was constructed on Garden...
Road to the Keys
UPPER KEYS
In 1895, years before Flagler’s train began making tracks for the Florida Keys, politician George W. Allen gave a speech advocating the necessity of a road...
jump starting tourism
UPPER KEYS
P.F. “Bud” and Martha McKenney came to visit the Florida Keys from Atlanta, Georgia where they operated a series of ice cream parlors. During their stay,...
the wrecking industry
MARATHON
Joshua Appelby sailed from Rhode Island, bound for the West Indies, circa 1822. He would come ashore in the area of Knights Key with a partner, John...
All about the kraAl
According to Merriam-Webster, kraal is defined as “an enclosure for animals especially in southern Africa.” In the Keys, the word is most closely associated with the pens...
The Biscayne Aquifer
One of the challenges to living on these islands, both for the Indians who predated Christopher Columbus’ arrival to the New World and the early pioneers who...
Monroe County’s changing border
Monroe County became the Florida Territory’s sixth county when it was established in 1823. The county was named after the fifth president of the United States, James...
Electricity comes to the Keys
John Jay Philbrick established the Key West Electric Company circa 1889. It was the first of its kind in the Florida Keys. Competition
arrived circa 1897 in the...
