Marathon began as a railroad town. During the construction of the right of way for the Key West Extension of Henry Flagler’s East Coast Railway, Camp 10 was built between what is today 33rd and 35th Streets, where Stanley Switlik School is located.
Camp 10 grew into a railroad yard and permanent housing for F.E.C. offices and those men employed to keep the construction operating. The complex grew to include the railroad yard, school, hospital, post office, water tower, coaling station, auditor’s office, mess hall, general office, tennis court, the Marathon Hotel and more. It was also where a railroad wye was established. A wye is a triangle of track that enables locomotives to turn around.
By 1908, the railroad had crossed Key Vaca and Hog Key and had reached Knights Key, and the temporary terminus of Flagler’s train. Daily railroad service was operating between the mainland and Knights Key. According to F.E.C. timetables, there were three stops in the area: Vaca, Knights Key and Knights Key Dock.
It was 1908, too, when the name Marathon appeared. The Marathon Station was in the growing complex that grew from Camp 10 near 33rd Street. The big debate among locals is why the name Marathon was chosen. Some say it was because work on the right of way was like a marathon.
If anyone could break through the legend and lore and deliver some truth, it was the late, great historian Dan Gallagher. In his book “Florida’s Great Ocean Railway,” Gallagher revealed that the F.E.C. Railway’s President Joseph R. Parrott credited the Marathon name to American poet Witter Bynner. According to Gallagher, Parrott invited Bynner down to the Keys to “plot stations for the railroad.”
Bynner chose to rename the Vaca Station, Marathon Station. When asked why he chose the name, Bynner said the inspiration came from a poem by the Romantic poet Lord Byron, who wrote in his poem, “The Isles of Greece,” “The mountains look on Marathon – And Marathon looks on the sea…”
Marathon was not Key Vaca’s only community. Before Camp 10 was pitched, there was a small community a little over a mile up the right of way known as Adderley Town. George Adderley was the namesake. George left the Bahamas and relocated to the Keys circa 1890. He was 20. At some point, he lived on “Matecumbe Key,” which probably indicates Upper Matecumbe Key, where the small farming community of Matecumbe was developing.
In 1896, he married Olivia. George and Olivia moved to Key Vaca in 1902. They settled in a virgin, sub-tropical hammock on the gulf side of the island, where they purchased 32.25 acres for $100. The house he built resembled a typical, rural Bahamian home. It was a rectangular, masonry structure with a hip roof covered in pressed tin. A homemade form of concrete called tabby held the house together. Tabby concrete was created by burning shells, such as conch shells, to extract lime. The lime was mixed with water, sand, ash and crushed shells until the sticky “concrete” paste was formed.
The structure, built circa 1906, was one of five housing the community’s residents, who worked as fishermen, spongers and charcoal makers. When making charcoal, buttonwood was the preferred tree. The late Florida historian Charleon Tebeau described the process: “Great cone-shaped heaps of neatly stacked wood were built up, sometimes containing as much as ten cords for a single burning. This was then covered with grass and sand to make it airtight except for a vent at the top. Enough openings were made around the bottom to fire the wood and burn it so as to drive out the volatile gases and leave charcoal. A cord of wood produced ten bags of charcoal for which there was a ready market.”
Adderley owned a stretch of Key Vaca necessary for the railroad right of way. He sold the strip of land to the F.E.C. with the caveat that a railroad stop at Adderley Town would be created. The railroad made a flag stop. A flag stop is different from a station building with regularly scheduled stops. Flag stops consisted of a platform.
Once a week, if, as the train was roaring across Key Vaca and the engineer saw the flag raised at the Adderley Town platform, he would stop.
Remarkably, one structure related to Adderley Town still stands. Though it has been repaired over the years, George Adderley’s house is still there and represents the oldest structure outside of Key West that is still standing in the Florida Keys. The legacy they unknowingly left behind continues to stand and contribute to the rich history of the Keys. The home is part of the Florida Black History Trail, developed in partnership with the Florida Division of Historical Resources and a group of invested citizens. The pamphlet they produce provides “a microcosm of African American landmarks and legacies.”
The home is located where it was first built, at what is today Crane Point Hammock at 5550 Overseas Highway. In 1992, George’s tabby house of vernacular construction became listed on the National Register of Historic Places. When visiting the site, it is possible to step inside and experience the home and an incredible piece of Florida Keys history on a personal level. There is nothing else like it in the Keys. Crane Point Hammock and the Adderley House are hidden gems in the Florida Keys.
Marathon has a lot more to offer than a little history about a railroad town and an old tabby house. Next week, we will explore more of the heart of the Florida Keys.
