Inside and out, the Islamorada branch of the Monroe County Library offers a book-full of local history and more. One of Islamorada’s cultural gems, the historic building provides much more than books to the community.
From reading and educational programs for children to the community room where groups can hold meetings, the little library has been an Islamorada haven for more than 50 years.
A stalwart of the community for 85 years, it was built in response to the devastating 1935 Labor Day Hurricane that redefined life in the Florida Keys. On Jan. 2, 1936, the Key West Citizen ran a story discussing a series of proposed storm structures to be built: “…hurricane proof community houses along the lower east coast and in the Lake Okeechobee and the keys region. The building will be of sufficient size to house the entire population in the area served by each. They will be used for school, church and general civic purposes and during the hurricane season will be used as houses of refuge in which people of the area may escape the dangers of high wind and water.”
Two of these community houses were built in the Upper Keys. One was built on Key Largo and served the Tavernier community; the other on Upper Matecumbe Key, in the heart of what is now Islamorada, and today serves as the library. The Works Progress Administration, working with the Federal Emergency Relief Administration and the Red Cross, built both structures.
Like the Red Cross or hurricane houses, they were built on concrete foundations with concrete walls 12 inches thick and reinforced with rebar. Though each structure served as a place where the community was able to seek shelter when threatened by a storm, their primary purpose was as a school. When it opened its doors in September 1938, the Matecumbe Grammar School went on to serve as the community’s school for 13 years.
Islamorada – in fact, all of the Upper Keys – was growing, and as the population grew, the school’s walls seemed to draw closer together. Plans were drawn up for a larger school, the land was cleared on Plantation Key, and the Coral Shores School was constructed. In 1951, when the new school was completed, the Matecumbe Grammar School closed its doors.
The building, however, has never stopped serving the community. The San Pedro Catholic Church started at the old school building in 1952. In 1954, the First Baptist Church of Islamorada began meeting there. In 1960, during Hurricane Donna, a Category 4 calamity and the strongest hurricane to affect the Florida Keys since 1935, the building offered a safe place for residents to weather the blow. By 1966, Justice of the Peace George Rawlins had set up an office inside the building. That was also the year the old school and community house transformed into a library.
On Nov. 20, 1966, the Key West Citizen reported: “Not many structures in the Keys serve as many purposes as the Old Coast Guard Building in Islamorada. It recently underwent a facelift and made room for the Islamorada branch of the Monroe County Public Library, scheduled to open soon.” While the building may have once served as a meeting place for the Coast Guard Auxiliary, the U.S. Coast Guard has no record of any land base in Islamorada other than its current facility at Snake Creek.
When it opened, it was not presented as a standard library but offered comfortable couches, tea and coffee for those who wanted to come inside and escape the heat. Today, the building is a little bigger than when it was built in 1938. Two additions have been made, one in 1983 and one in 1999, though the original structure is still largely intact and, looking at it from the Overseas Highway, the building appears nearly the same as it did 85 years ago.
It was 1983, too, when the library was rededicated to honor a true friend of the library, Mrs. Helen Wadley. For nearly two decades, if Wadley was not being paid to work at the library, she was volunteering her time. She served as president of the Friends of the Islamorada Library twice, from 1976 to 1977, then again from 1982 to 1984. It only makes sense that the library was renamed the Helen Wadley Branch of the Monroe County Library to honor her.
As well as offering a bevy of reading programs and events for children of all ages, the library has a Florida history room curated by the former library manager and local historian Jim Clupper. Filled with historical books, clippings and relevant documents, his Florida Room is a treasure. It is a fantastic resource for those looking to understand the Florida Keys’ rich history better.
If you have not stopped by this amazing facility, do yourself a favor and visit this local gem. Found across the highway from the Florida Keys Memorial at MM 81.7, look for the giant purple book on the side of the road.
