History (Page 3/4)
My Visit to the Oldest House in Key West
The Oldest House in Key West, and all of South Florida for that matter, was originally located on Whitehead Street when it was built in the 1820’s by a ship’s carpenter using cedar and pine. But in 1829 the house was…
Read MoreErnest Hemingway Home and Museum
Part of why I came to Key West back in the 1990’s was because of Ernest Hemingway. I was fresh out of college and the lure of Papa was too much to ignore. So I have obviously visited all of…
Read MoreFlorida Keys: Pigeon Key
It seems like everywhere today developers come in and build big complexes of condos, hotels, or strip malls. Sometimes it betters the landscape when taking the place of old, dilapidated structures. But all too often they end up taking out…
Read MoreKey West and the Florida Keys: African Queen
The iconic boat from the Humphrey Bogart movie of the same name, African Queen, has called the docks at the Holiday Inn in Key Largo home since 1983. The boat is actually registered as a national historic site. Recently, she has undergone…
Read MoreThe Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson
The Dry Tortugas are a cluster of seven islands located about 70 miles west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The seven islands that make up the Dry Tortugas are Garden Key, Loggerhead Key, Bush Key, Long Key,…
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Key West’s Famous Residents, Past and Present
Today there are about 25,000 people living in Key West. That is a lot of residents for such a tiny island, but Key West has so much to offer such as a laid back atmosphere, great fishing and diving, agreeable…
Read MoreKey West Historical Markers: The Captain George Carey House and the Pirates Well
I was wondering downtown the other day and I came across a sign posted in front of one of the historic downtown homes that said “Pirates Well.” I have walked by this place a hundred times and had never noticed…
Read MoreKey West Museums
Our tiny island is so rich with history. And it shows with the sheer number of museums found in Key West. Here is as comprehensive list as I could put together for those visiting and interesting in our island’s history….
Read MoreMel Fisher, Key West Treasure Hunter
Mel Fisher was arguably the most famous treasure hunter in modern times. Probably because in 1985 he discovered the Atocha, a Spanish galleon that sank off of the Florida Keys in a hurricane in 1622. With over $450 million in…
Read MoreKey West Events: Captain Tony Days
The 4 day long party celebrating the life of Captain Tony Tarracino, one of the most famous residents Key West has ever had, starts tonight!! Tony died at the age of 92 in 2008. He was the owner of Captain…
Read MoreThe Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge
Established in 1938, the Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge is located in the lower Florida Keys and Key West and is comprised of about 200,000 acres of open water and islands which provides nesting, feeding, and resting areas for…
Read MoreKey West Cemetery
A horrible hurricane that hit the island on October 11, 1846 disinterred most of the bodies in the original burial ground near the Southernmost Point, so a new location on higher ground in the center of Key West was chosen….
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