AN A & B STORY: FAMILY LEAVES MARK ON THE ISLAND CHAIN
This column appears weekly because the Florida Keys have more to offer than great fishing and diving, fantastic weather, spectacular sunsets and world-famous drinking establishments.
Monroe County and...
KEYS HISTORY: CONTROVERSIAL CHECKPOINT BY FEDS LEADS TO CONCH REPUBLIC FORMATION
All hail the Conch Republic, a shelltastic micronation culled from the drastic need for some serious media spin.
It was 1982, and the war on drugs had officially...
KEYS HISTORY: NOVELIST DETAILS BLACK CAESAR SECRETS
A story republished in “The Jackson Standard” on April 22, 1858 is one of the oldest on record that addresses a pirate named Black Caesar, who ruled...
KEYS HISTORY: ‘ALLIGATOR’ LIBERATES SHIPS FROM PIRATES
The U.S. Schooner Alligator cultivated a rich story over its short life. It begins in the Charlestown Navy Yard near Boston, where the 86-foot long ship-of-war was...
KEYS HISTORY: LANTERN FUEL PUTS LIGHTHOUSE KEEPERS LIVES AT RISK
The story reprinted in the Boston Globe on Nov. 22, 1896, originally appeared in the New York Sun. Jacob Bethel was visiting New York City from the...
KEYS HISTORY: SAND KEY LIGHTHOUSE SAVED LIVES & MARKS THE DECLINE IN WRECKING INDUSTRY
The Havana Hurricane of 1846 is thought to be the first recorded Category 5 hurricane to strike Cuba. As the storm crossed the Straits of Florida, it...
KEYS HISTORY: TRUMAN LITTLE WHITE HOUSE MARKS 30 YEARS AS STATE HISTORIC SITE
Key West’s Truman Little White House on Nov. 8 celebrated the 30th anniversary of its dedication as a state historic site and museum.
On that day in 1991,...
OPPORTUNITIES & DANGERS OF FLORIDA TREATY’S KEYS ACQUISITION
When the United States acquired the Florida Territory, it was a bigger version of Florida than is mapped today. During British ownership (1763-1783), the territory was divided...
KEYS HISTORY: CIGARS & FARMING APLENTY
It is difficult to tell a Key West or a Key Largo story without telling a Florida Keys story.
What time has done is produce a system of...
KEYS HISTORY: ETCHING KEYS TREASURE HUNTERS INTO HISTORY
Art “Silver Bar” McKee is a celebrated Florida Keys treasure hunter. He was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey, on Nov. 2, 1910, and always loved the water.
As...
