Torchwood is a tree that grows in South Florida, the Keys, Mexico and the Caribbean.
It reaches about 15 feet, though it can grow a little taller.
A member of the citrus family, torchwood blooms with small clusters of fragrant white flowers that give off a strong perfume. The fruit is a drupe, a fleshy fruit like a cherry or an apricot that turns purplish black when it ripens. Birds love torchwood fruit. People can eat it, too.
Amyris elemifera is called torchwood because it is highly resinous and burns well. Before there were lamps and flashlights, torchwood was burned and used as, well, a torch. Also, torchwood is one of two food sources for the endangered Schaus’ swallowtail butterfly.
Neither the butterfly nor the tree is as prevalent as they once were in the Florida Keys, due largely to development.
The tree is also the namesake of the Torch Keys, which include Little Torch, Middle Torch and Big Torch Key. Driving down the Overseas Highway, after crossing the Seven Mile Bridge and Big Pine Key, there is still the North Pine Channel Bridge, a line of railroad fill, and the South Pine Channel Bridge to cross before reaching Little Torch Key.
Some of the early stories told about the islands do not differentiate among Little, Middle and Big, and just refer to Torch Key. According to a story from the Miami Herald dated March 17, 1922, Dexter Hubel from Michigan arrived in the Florida Keys circa 1876. He made a homestead claim of 160 acres on Torch Key. The story stated, “The principal means of a livelihood on Torch Key in those early days were the raising of limes, guavas, mangoes, sapodillas, teas or egg fruit, and the burning of charcoal.”
It also said that Hubel sold his land in 1901 for $400 and bought 30 acres on No Name Key. The family island-hopped. However, change was coming to the Florida Keys. First came Henry Flagler’s train. Next was a road for cars to drive from the mainland to Key West. Progress was captured in a story printed by the Miami Tribune on Feb. 3, 1925. “A unique proposition in the way of a subdivision on Big Torch Key, called Rainbow Beach, has called the attention of anglers and investors since it recently went on sale. The name was suggested by the opalescent waters that surround Big Torch Key.
“Rainbow Beach is an old homestead that has been subdivided and put on the market at low prices and terms. Citrus fruits, pineapples, sweet grapes, two crops a year, with bunches weighing from four to five pounds each, melons and vegetables of all varieties, honey-bees and date palms yield abundantly, according to agricultural reports. … The Overseas automobile highway, under construction, will connect Miami and Key West and which, when completed, will afford a wonderful, direct highway to Rainbow Beach. It is contemplated to build a city on Big Torch Key which will undoubtedly be one of a chain of cities that extend over the Florida Keys, within a few years.”
The highway was officially called State Road 4A. The first version of it traveled a much different path than its modern counterpart. While the road did not officially open until 1928, it was operational by the summer of 1927. The Palm Beach Post, on April 28, 1927, noted: “From Key West to Torch Key, a distance of 33 miles, in one hour and ten minutes is the record made with all ease by Chief Engineer Joseph Watkins in his automobile. At White Street on Flagler Avenue, he set his speedometer on zero, and when a stop was made at Torch Key, 33 miles had been ticked off.”
Both the original path and the modern path of the highway crossed Little Torch Key, but not Middle or Big Torch, making some of the narratives about the cluster of islands confusing. When Watkins drove 33 miles from Flagler Avenue, he arrived at Little Torch Key 70 minutes later. Thankfully, it doesn’t take that long now.
Little Torch has a story or two to tell, and one of them is about Bern and Betty Brothers, who moved to the island in the 1950s. Their small property had a lagoon, marina, home and three rental cottages. As the story is told, one day, a dolphin swam into their lagoon, returned day after day, and, according to Betty, decided to stay. They named the dolphin, a female, Dal. Also, after a while, they gated off the entrance to the lagoon.
A few years later, a wild dolphin was caught in a fishing net, and Grassy Key’s Milton Santini sold the dolphin to the Brothers, who wanted a companion for Dal. The male dolphin was named Suwa. Dal and Suwa lived together in the lagoon for 20 years. Also, the lagoon’s gate was not always closed.
Betty Brothers wrote several books, including “Dolphins Love Our Florida Keys Home.” The property became known as Dolphin Marina and is today home to the welcome center and ferry launch for those departing for a bit of escape to Little Palm Island. Unless you are turning to the oceanside and checking in at Little Palm, two opportunities will be presented moving forward. The first turn to the gulfside takes you to old State Road 4A and travels up Little Torch and just past Lobster Tail Trail, where the road veers to the right before it ends. In 1928, the road led to a wooden bridge that led to the end of Watson Boulevard on Big Pine Key.
State Road 4A won’t be the only sightseeing detour the Torch Keys offer. On the other side of Torch Channel is a road that leads to Middle Torch Key named Middle Torch Road. Going south/west, if you take the right and drive down the road, before it comes to an end, it connects to Dorn Road, also called Big Torch Key Road. The Rainbow Beach community or a city never took hold on the island. There are no stores or restaurants, just a few homes, and a view of the Florida Keys as they really look.
