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...
DIVING MUSEUM’S JULIA SOKOLOW TALKS 20TH CENTURY DIVING AT UPCOMING LECTURE IN ISLAMORADA
Join the History of Diving Museum at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 18 for the “Immerse Yourself!” Salvage Diving in the 20th Century, with Julia Sokolow, community...
KEYS HISTORY: CAPTURED SPANIARD SHARES A CALUSA STORY
I spend hours and hours researching the local history and then writing about it, and I do my best to share some history, tell a story and...
KEYS HISTORY: PROHIBITION SAW RAIDS & ARRESTS IN KEY WEST
During Prohibition, there was no shortage of places to acquire alcohol in the Florida Keys. Occasionally, federal Prohibition agents visited those places, often referred to as speakeasies,...
KEYS HISTORY: PROHIBITION BROUGHT OPPORTUNITY FOR THE LIKES OF CAPPONE IN THE KEYS
The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, was named for Andrew J. Volstead, the Minnesota Republican and chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who...
