075. Overseas Railway Terminal
Historic Marker Number 75 is located on the corner of Trumbo Road and Caroline Street.On this site was a shell-covered beach on the Gulf of Mexico until it was filled in during the building of the Overseas Railway. Legend has it that when Henry Flagler was told that there was not enough land to build the grand terminal he envisioned for his railroad, his response was simple, ‘then make some’. Trumbo American Dredging Company was hired to create enough land to build Flagler’s train terminal. With Howard Trumbo as head engineer, enough fill was dredged to create an additional 134 acres of Key West and Trumbo Point was born.The two piers nearest you, which date back to 1912, were an integral part of Henry Flagler’s plan to use his railroad and steamships to connect the Unites States mainland to Cuba. The steamship trip was ninety miles long and traversed the strong currents of the Gulf Stream.Ships, docked at the long pier closest to the new ferry docks, were used to carry the train cars from Key West to Cuba. The ships were outfitted with tracks that were used to load the trains that were typically carrying good for sale, hence the need to transport the entire train cars. In Key West, the trains were transferred from dry land to the ship and when they arrived in Cuba, they were unloaded and connected to the Cuban rail service.Ferries, docked at the middle pier, were used to carry smaller cars and passengers. Both ships and ferries traveled the same route over the water to Cuba.Flagler’s plan went beyond connecting the deep-water ports of Cuba and Key West. While that connection would be economically beneficial, Flagler speculated that it would also entice lucrative shipments through the Panama Canal, which opened in 1914.The U.S. Navy recognized that Trumbo Point had great strategic value and acquired it from Flagler. On July 13, 1917, ground for the Trumbo Naval Air Station was broken. The main structures on base were blimp and seaplane hangars. Trumbo Point became home to the southernmost seaplane-training base.There are three additional piers that stretch into Key West’s historic seaport. These piers are part of an outcrop of the manmade lands that originate at the end of Trumbo Road. Today this area is home to the Coast Guard Station in Key West.The Overseas Railway was destroyed on Labor Day 1935 by a Category 5 hurricane. Over time, the Overseas Highway was constructed to replace it. As you drive to or from Key West, notice the arched concrete train bridges that parallel the Overseas Highway. They stand as the backbone of a transportation dream that was considered an engineering marvel of its day. After a century of wear and tear, they are a testament to the ingenuity and tenacity of our forefathers.
088. Norberg Thompson
Historic Marker Number 88 is located between Elizabeth and William Streets.Norberg Thompson was a man of initiative and enterprise who always seemed to be ahead of the times. By shaping much of the economic infrastructure that gave growth to the town in the first half of the twentieth century, he significantly influenced the development of Key West.In an early business venture, he was involved in the sponge industry, having taken over for his father as the representative of several New York sponge buyers. At its peak, local spongers held a monopoly on the sponge industry, supplying 60% of the sponge demand nationally. Thompson was responsible for a good portion of that success. At the peak of his career, Thompson owned most of the Historic Seaport. His greatest achievement was the thousands of local jobs his businesses supported for nearly fifty years.Most of Thompson’s businesses were located in the Historic Seaport District. His business, Thompson Enterprises, engaged in fishing, ice production, cigar box manufacturing, pineapple and guava canning, turtle soup production, sponging and hardware sales. Over time, business after business would emerge, flourish, decline and be replaced by another. Thompson’s various business ventures are a reflection of changes to Key West during the early twentieth century.For hundreds of years, turtles were an important food source and economic catalyst for many seafaring communities. In 1910, Thompson purchased the A. Granday Turtle Canning business. A French chef who came to Key West seeking a source for green turtles owned the business. His turtle soup recipe became famous in restaurants in New York City and was shipped all around the world. The cannery was the only factory in the U.S. that exclusively distributed green turtle products. It operated until 1971 when the Endangered Species Act was passed (see Historic Marker #78).During the heyday of the cigar industry Thompson built a cigar box factory that manufactured cigar boxes from cedar logs shipped from Cuba. The factory was capable of producing 7,000 boxes per day. The high quality boxes were a prized commodity for nearly 200 local cigar factories (see Historic Marker #80).The Thompson Fish Company had a fleet of nearly 125 fishing boats. The company processed the catch from its own and other fleets and then shipped the fish, which was either salted or packed in ice from Thompson’s ice factory, to markets throughout the United States.In the 1930s, Thompson opened a pineapple and guava canning factory with fruit shipped from Cuba on Henry Flagler’s railroad ferries traveling from Cuba to Key West (see Historic Marker #89).With the destruction of Flagler’s Overseas Railway during the Labor Day Hurricane in 1935, Thompson provided freight service to Miami by way of a barge line. When the Overseas Highway was completed in 1938, he started the Overseas Transportation Company, which at one time operated fifty-two trucks from Miami to Key West. During World War II, almost everything that reached Key West from the mainland was carried on his truck line.Thompson was at the forefront of a brand new industry that emerged in the 1950s. In 1948, he hired a select group of fishermen to find elusive Florida Pink Shrimp in the Gulf waters. The shrimp were discovered and kicked off the ‘Florida Pink Gold Rush’ (1949-1970s), which led to the capture of vast amounts of shrimp for decades to come (see Historic Marker #77). By 1950, there were 500 shrimp trawlers docked at the Historic Seaport. Thompson’s icehouse, fish packing and transportation lines were a crucial part of the success of this lucrative industry.Throughout his career, Thompson was a generous visionary who managed to stay a step ahead of the times. He was a major job creator throughout the cycles of good and bad economic climates. During the Great Depression era, he employed 40% of Key West and left a lasting legacy at the Historic Seaport and throughout the island he loved.
046. Sponge Docks
Historic Marker Number 46 is located in Key West Bight near A&B Marina.Sponges were discovered in the waters of the Florida Keys as early as the 1820s. Native fishermen would often find sponges washed up onto the shores after storms. The first catches were only used for the local domestic trade.With the discovery of rich, thriving sponge beds in the remote backwater country of the Florida Keys, an industry was born. Most of the sponge beds were in about twenty feet of water. Fishermen used small boats, called ‘hook boats’ to navigate their way to the sponge beds. The most common method of harvesting them was with the use of a long pole with a three- or four-pronged rake at its end. The fishermen, branded as ‘hookers’, used the rake to pry sponges loose and retrieve them from the waters below.While Key West’s waters were abundant with rich sponge beds yielding high quality sponge, the remote location of the island made it difficult and expensive to get the product to market. In 1849, the first shipment of sponges was transported to New York City to determine whether there was a market for them. The softness and wide variety of the Keys’ sponges were an instant success. This began an island industry that lasted 50 years.At its peak, Key West held a monopoly on the sponge trade in the United States, by employing 1,200 men working on 350 hook boats. It produced an average of 2,000 tons per year which yielded the economy roughly $750,000.In 1904, Greek immigrants came to the Keys to pursue sponging. They used primitive diving suits with heavy lead boots which allowed them to reach sponges in deeper water. Local fishermen were skeptical of this practice and correctly believed that walking on the sponge beds with the lead weighted boots damaged the young sponges and reduced future harvests. A combination of the use of the diving suits, overfishing and the spread of a deadly sponge fungus brought the island’s sponging industry to an end.New, healthy sponge beds were later discovered off the coast of central Florida and the industry moved to Tarpon Springs where it still thrives today.Check out the 1953 movie Beneath the 12 Mile Reef. It is a Hollywood B movie starring a young Robert Wagner. The highlight of the movie is that it was one of the first movies to be filmed in CinemaScope. It was shot in Key West and is a fictionalized story of the sponging industry.
031. Key West Cigar Capital
Historic Marker Number 31 is located at 540 Greene Street between Duval and Simonton streets.The production of hand-rolled cigars was Key West’s largest and most influential industry during the nineteenth century, that began with William Wall’s factory in 1831 (Historic Marker #13). For several decades, Key West found itself in the right place and right time to capitalize on the growing worldwide demand for quality cigars.At the time, Spain was engulfed in a protracted revolution in Cuba, the ‘pearl’ of its colonial empire. Financially drained from seven wars and imperialist expeditions to Africa and the Caribbean, the Spanish government began selling tobacco on the international market. The proceeds were vital to support its troops in Cuba and to crush the revolution there.Meanwhile, conditions were ideal for Key West’s development as a leader in cigar manufacturing. Thousands of Cuban expatriates fled to Key West to escape Spain’s oppression of their home country. Key West’s population increased dramatically. Many of the new immigrants were skilled cigar makers, eager to start anew. In addition, high tariffs were placed on cigars exported from Cuba. Both these factors made it possible for Key West to produce a cigar with the same tobacco and the same skilled cigar work force for a third of the price of a cigar purchased from Cuba.Key West’s cigar industry exploded. It thrived and easily overcame hurricanes, fires and limited transportation. In the 1890s, at the peak of the industry, there were two hundred cigar factories. Some were so large that they covered nearly a city block. Others were small or modest producers that manufactured cigars in wooden houses called ‘buckeyes’.A skilled cigar roller could hand-roll 300 cigars per day, or in excess of 100,000 cigars per year. Key West was producing 100,000,000 hand-rolled cigars a year and was recognized as the ‘Cigar Capital’ of the world.This city block where you are standing was occupied by the Seidenberg Factory, which consisted of four large factory buildings. In 1885, ten cigar factories occupied the blocks facing this Historic Marker. All the buildings were lost in the Great Fire of 1886 (see Historic Marker # 28)
051. Cayo Hueso
Historic Marker Number 51 is located in Mallory Square.Key West got its name from a combination of cultures and languages. Early Spanish explorers named the island ‘cayo hueso’ which loosely translates to English as ‘bone island’.Historians and scholars believe that the first part of the name can be easily explained. ‘Cayo’ was adopted by the Spanish explorers from the language of the Tiano Indians of Cuba which refers to a small island. The equivalent word in English is ‘cay’. Over the years, American Colonists’ terminology for the island became ‘key’.‘Hueso’ has two meanings in Spanish. The direct Spanish translation means ‘bone’. The origins of the name are commonly believed to be a reference to the piles of bones scattered about the island. The bones are thought to be human remains of a skirmish between two competing Native American tribes, shipwreck victims, or piles of fish bones accumulated over hundreds of years of fishing by the native people and nearby island groups. There are even stories by John Whitehead, one of the founding fathers of Key West, talking about piles of bones being found as the island was settled in the 1820s.The Spanish pronounce ‘Hueso’ phonetically as ‘wayso’. The Spanish also referred to Key West as ‘oeste’ which translates to English as ‘west’. Key West is the western most island of the Florida Keys.Through a general merging of the names along with references in English navigation charts, ‘hueso’ was replaced with ‘west’. Today the many origins of Key West’s name go hand in hand with the rich, diverse, multi-cultural history and heritage the island has to offer.
039. The Mosquito Fleet
Historic Marker Number 39 is located in Mallory Square.On February 7, 1822, Lieutenant Navy Commander Matthew C. Perry was given the order to survey the coast and inspect the Florida Keys. A little over a month later, on March 25, the first United States flag was planted on Key West soil. The following year, Commodore David Porter and the U.S. Navy officially staked claim to the island.Porter’s mission was two-fold: to establish a naval base in Key West, or Thompson’s Island as it was known at the time, and to eradicate pirates operating in the West Indies. Porter took his duties quite seriously and carried them out perfectly, a bit too perfectly. When it came to erecting the naval base, Porter quickly established a storehouse, workshop, hospital, and living quarters for his men.Under his command the West Indian Squadron was fast, lethal, and efficient. Like a mosquito in a room, you knew it is somewhere, but you never knew when or where it will sting, hence the squadron was nicknamed the ‘Mosquito Fleet’. Porter reduced piracy throughout the Caribbean. He chased the few pirates that remained back to a port in Puerto Rico, at the time controlled by the Spanish Empire. Porter, under no direct command from the Navy, demanded that the Spanish turn over the remaining pirates to be dealt with. When the Spanish refused, Porter marched his soldiers ashore and “taught the Spanish a lesson.”So as not to cause an international incident, the U.S. Navy court-martialed Porter. He promptly left the U.S. and entered the service of the Mexican Navy. Wanting to acknowledge the purported injustice done to him, the U.S. government appointed Porter as the consular agent to Turkey decades later. Porter eventually died in 1843 in Turkey.
049. Conch Republic
Historic Marker Number 49 is located at 402 Wall Street in Mallory Square.Struggles for life and liberty are nothing new for the citizens of the Florida Keys. They have been claimed by the Spanish Empire after Ponce de Leon’s discovery in 1513, traded to England in 1765, taken back by Spain in 1783, sold to the United States as a territory in 1819 and received statehood along with the rest of Florida in 1845. It was not until 1982 that the Florida Keys’ liberty was challenged by its own country.Key West has always been a tight knit, multicultural community with a great sense of pride. That, coupled with the island’s remote location nearly 146 miles from the mainland, has insulated its privacy for decades. Whether you travel by air, boat, or drive along the only road leading in and out of the Keys, you will probably be noticed long before you arrive at Key West.In 1982, the Border Patrol decided to set up a check point at the Last Chance Saloon in Florida City effectively cutting off the Florida Keys from the mainland. The Border Patrol stopped every vehicle leaving the Keys supposedly searching for illegal drugs and aliens attempting to enter the United States. The daily result of their actions was a 17-mile backup of traffic leaving the Keys.The media started reporting on these unprecedented governmental actions. As the stories of the massive traffic jam poured out across the world, visitors began to cancel their Florida Keys holiday reservations. Hotels emptied, deliveries were delayed or stopped, and attractions in the Keys were starved for customers - the Keys were paralyzed.An injunction against the government’s action was filed in federal court but the court essentially refused to prevent the Border Patrol from treating the Keys like a foreign nation. Something had to happen.Harkening back to the island’s days of pirate lore, the mayor of Key West gathered the press to read a proclamation of secession from the United States. With many of the residents of the Florida Keys having Conch heritage, the new micro nation was named the Conch Republic. The mayor, now proclaimed the Prime Minister of the Republic, commenced to break a stale loaf of Cuban bread over the federal agents at the gathering. After a minute or two, the Prime Minister surrendered to the agents and demanded foreign aid and war relief to rebuild the Republic after the long federal siege from the United States.While the United States never formally recognized the secession or the foreign aid demands, the incident garnered enough media coverage to pressure the Border Patrol station to dissolve and stop the vehicle searches.The Conch Republic’s motto is, appropriately, ‘We seceded where others failed’.
071. Custom House
Historic Marker Number 71 is located at 281 Front Street across from the Civil War memorial at Clinton Square.This large red brick building was constructed as the U.S. Custom House, but customs operations only formed part of what transpired inside its walls.Key West, along with Florida, became a United States territory in 1821. In January 1822, Alabama businessman John Simonton purchased the island for $2,000 because of its strategic location on the Florida Straits. Geographically, Key West is situated 128 miles southwest of mainland Florida and ninety miles north of Cuba. Its close proximity to trade routes connecting major ports in the United States, the Caribbean and the Americas made Key West an ideal destination for business entrepreneurs such as Simonton, as well as the U.S. military.Major industries ranging from salvaging, importing, exporting, fishing, sponging, sea salt and eventually cigar manufacturing formed the backbone of Key West’s nineteenth century economy. As a result, Key West’s population grew quickly. By 1890, Key West was the largest city in Florida with a population of 18,000 compared to Miami with less than 500. It was also considered to be the wealthiest city per capita in the United States.Key West’s expanding trade operations required a stronger Federal presence on the island. By 1828, Key West had been designated a U.S. Port of Entry, leading to the Federal Government establishing the Superior Court of the Southern Judicial District of the Territory of Florida in Key West.In 1833, the government purchased land near the harbor and erected a small wooden structure to house its customs operations. So lucrative were the customs operations, that by 1882 the annual revenue generated in Key West alone was greater than the amount of revenue received from all other Florida ports combined.Recognizing the importance of Key West’s growing economy, the U.S. Treasury authorized construction of a larger building in 1885 to accommodate its customs operations. This building’s Richardsonian Romanesque architecture is styled after federal buildings that were all the rage at the turn of the nineteenth century. The structure housed the customs offices, district court and post office.By the 1930s, customs diminished, and the court and post office moved to other locations. The Navy took possession of the building for the next decade and eventually abandoned the building as military need for it declined. The building stood vacant for the next twenty years until the state recognized its historical and architectural importance. In 1991 it was sold to the Florida Land Acquisition Advisory Council.In 1993 the Key West Art & Historical Society undertook an extensive $9 million restoration of the dilapidated building returning it to its original state. It now operates as the Key West Museum of Art & History.
072. Audubon House Museum
Historic Marker Number 72 is located at 205 Whitehead Street on the corner of Greene Street.In October 1846, a powerful hurricane bore down on Key West, damaging or destroying nearly all of the homes in the city. In the aftermath of this devastating storm, Captain John Huling Geiger, a harbor pilot and master wrecker, began construction on a grand home that would serve as his family’s residence. Today, that home is known as the Audubon House.The construction of the Audubon House occurred between the years 1846 and 1849. At the time, Captain Geiger was one of Key West’s wealthiest men, and he wanted a home befitting of his family’s stature in the community. He chose a prominent location for the home on the corner of Whitehead and Greene streets so it could be seen and admired by all coming and going from the waterfront.Captain Geiger used the best carpenters and finest materials available for his mansion, which was built in the American Classic Revival architectural style. A model of quality workmanship, the entire wooden structure was constructed with mortise and tenon joints. The wooden frame of the House and the floors are of Dade County Pine, a now-extinct hardwood almost impervious to termites. The exterior doors are cypress, and the staircase is mahogany.At the time of the home’s construction, the Custom House had not yet been built across the street, and there were no other structures between the home and the ocean to obstruct the view. A cupola at the top of the house (which no longer remains) gave Captain Geiger an unobstructed view of the sea, an important feature for a wrecker’s home.Four generations of the Geiger family lived in the house for nearly 110 years. The last of Captain Geiger’s descendants to call the house his home was his great-grandson, Captain William Bradford Smith. Captain Smith was a recluse who lived alone in the house for over 20 years without electricity, running water, or an indoor kitchen. At the time of his death in 1956, the home had fallen into disrepair, with the windows shuttered and nailed closed.In 1958, the house was slated for demolition to make way for a gas station when Mitchell Wolfson and his wife Frances stepped in to save it. Their purchase and subsequent renovation of Audubon House sparked the restoration movement in Key West that is evident today in the city’s Historic Old Towne District.
004. Dr. Joseph Yates Porter House
Historic Marker Number 4 is located at 429 Caroline Street between Duval and Whitehead streets.The house you are looking at was originally built in 1839 as a two-story house. The home was constructed by Judge James Webb, the first Federal Judge of the Southern District of the Florida Territory. Webb introduced influential legislation regulating salvage, which helped establish wrecking as a legitimate legal business in Florida.In 1870, a third floor, featuring a mansard roof and gable dormers, was added. The mansion has a wonderful mix of Bahamian, New England, and French architectural elements. Notice the elaborate ornamentation of porch posts and hand-wrought iron balconies.The mansion is best known for one of its inhabitants, Dr. Joseph Yates Porter, Florida’s first Public Health Officer. Dr. Porter was instrumental in discovering that yellow fever was carried and spread by mosquitoes.Prior to this discovery, many ill-founded remedies were used to rid communities of the deadly disease. One of the most common of these was the use of quarantines. Ships would be detained in port and whole communities would be restricted from traveling to neighboring towns. Another remedy was to burn all of a patient’s belongings. Dr. Porter and his colleagues put an end to these practices and to the scourge of Florida that had lasted from before the Civil War well into the early 1900s.Dr. Porter lived in the mansion for 80 years and died in the same room in which he was born.
109. Robert Curry Mansion
Historic Marker Number 109 located at 313 Duval Street between Eaton and Caroline streets.This is the home of Robert Oliver Curry. Robert was born into a position of prominence. His father, William Curry, was Florida’s first millionaire.The Curry family made their fortune offering services that were centered on shipwreck salvage, and a number of businesses that served the international mercantile community. They were also heavily invested in building a wide array of boats and ships.Robert was born in 1858 a mere 12 years after his father’s businesses and family home were destroyed by the ‘Great Havana Hurricane’ of 1846. (See Historic Marker #40 for more information about Key West’s strongest hurricane).Robert Curry was the third of four sons that grew up working in the family enterprise that consisted of ship chandleries, a ship building yard, dry docks, one of the island’s first ice plants, ice storage facilities, a steam powered electric power plants, and a variety of warehouses.At the age of 40 he was present when the Great Fire of 1886 destroyed two thirds of Key West’s historic district including the family home for a second time. Most of his father’s businesses were leveled by the fire and the family was forced to rebuild once again. (See Historic Marker #28 for the story of the fire).Shortly after the Great Fire, William Curry gave each of his eight children $10,000 to build a home of their own. The sum was a significant amount of money in the late 1800s. Some people joke that it was an expensive way to get your children out of the house, but the gift led to seven of the most spectacular mansions in the city.One of the seven resulting mansions replaced the family home at 511 Caroline Street and five of his children, including Robert, built their mansions within a two-block distance of the original homestead.The imposing structure you are standing in front of was built in 1890. The architecture is Queen Anne style and encompasses a combination and mixing of stylistic details from various architectural designs. In this case there are architectural elements from medieval half timbering, stick style, Italianate, second empire, and gothic revival traditions. Notice the prominence of its wide porches and verandas with turned porch posts and double gable porch roof. Queen Anne architecture is a uniquely American style that swept the United States between 1880 thru 1910.After Robert Curry passed in 1909 and his wife’s death in 1918, the house went through a number of uses. For decades it was used as the Southernmost Elks’ Grand Lodge in the United States. The Elks are a fraternal organization with strong ties in Florida and throughout the United States.The main change to the house was a large concrete meeting room added to the rear of the structure in the 1960s. A more interesting addition took place on the front portico of the building. A large taxidermy elk with a sizable rack was mounted between the two gable roofs of the front porch. For years, the lodge’s symbol looked down on all who passed and proclaimed the presence of the fraternal organization throughout the Florida Keys.Some locals believe that the house is haunted. The presence has been attributed to the death of the mansion’s owner, Robert Oliver Curry. That is unlikely since Robert died of cancer in New York in 1909. Its hauntings can probably be attributed to the ghost of a suicide victim that shot himself in one of the bathtubs during the years that the Elks Lodge occupied the mansion.The mansion continues its tradition of being an imposing structure that reminds us of the prominence, productivity, and success of the Curry family in the 1800s. An example of Key West’s importance during the period can be seen in the 1900 census records. Key West was the largest city in the State of Florida with a population of 18,800 while Miami had approximately 500 residents.
003. Oldest House
Historic Marker Number 3 is located at 322 Duval Street between Caroline and Eaton streets.The oldest house in southern Florida was originally located a block or two away on Whitehead Street. The Oldest House has weathered hurricanes, fires, and Key West’s harsh marine environment. Its resiliency is largely due to the skill of Captain Richard Cussans, a ship’s carpenter who built the house. His mortise and tenon joinery, horizontal wallboards and ventilation hatches or ‘scuttles’ have enabled the house to withstand the tests of time.The expansion of the city from its deep-water port beginnings was slowed by the existence of a natural saltwater pond that ran from Whitehead Street through the Old City Hall site to the seaport. By 1829, a large portion of the lake had been filled and the structure was moved to its current location.The house was enlarged to four rooms with a center hall to accommodate its next residents, Captain Francis Watlington, his wife Emeline and their nine daughters. Captain Watlington held a number of maritime positions in his career including pilot, port warden, wrecker, coastal pilot for the U.S. Navy during the Second Seminole War and the Inspector of Customs. One of his duties for the Customs Office was to oversee the lightships, vessels that were used as floating lighthouses at dangerous coastal and reef locations.Captain Watlington served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1858 to 1861 only to resign his office at the outbreak of the Civil War. He joined the Confederate Navy in Mobile, Alabama and served as the captain of the gunboat Gaines of the Naval Squadron.With the Union victory in Mobile, Captain Watlington surrendered in May 1865 and was paroled shortly after. He returned to Key West and his family and descendants lived in the house until the early 1970s.
092. St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Historic Marker Number 92 is located at 401 Duval Street on the corner of Eaton Street.This grand structure stands as a testament to the faith, productivity, and tenacity of Key West's diverse community. The building you see before you is the fourth church structure built by St. Paul's parishioners within an 80-year period between the 1800s and early 1900s.In 1831, a mere nine years after the founding of Key West in 1822, St. Paul's church was formed by an official act of the Key West City Council. A signed petition was sent to the Episcopalian Bishop of New York requesting a priest be sent to the island and the Parish of St. Paul's be established.The first church rector, Reverend Sanson K. Brunot, arrived December 23, 1832, and held the parish's first service was held Christmas Day in the County Courthouse in Jackson Square. Since there was no church building or rectory, Brunot became a permanent houseguest of William Whitehead, one of the four founding fathers of Key West.Land for the church and rectory was given by Mary Fleming, the widow of John W. C. Fleming in 1832. Mr. Fleming was another one of the island’s founding fathers who had intended to set up a sea salt manufacturing business. He died in 1832 at the relatively young age of 51. Mrs. Fleming donated the land for the church with the stipulation that her husband's remains stay where they were. He is still buried on the grounds, but the actual burial site is unknown.The original church, made of coral rock was completed in 1839. The devastating Havana Hurricane of 1846 destroyed the building. The storm ravaged the island sparing only six of 800 buildings.The second church on this site was a wooden structure completed in 1848. As the church prospered, a rectory was added in 1857. Reverend Osgood E. Herrick was the first in a long line of rectors to call it home. The Great Fire of 1886 destroyed the second church, but by some good fortune, the Rectory survived unharmed.Rebuilding the church began immediately and a third church structure was finished in 1887. This building, again constructed of wood, stood in the center of the block facing Eaton Street. In 1890, the church purchased its first bells. Once installed, the first chime of bells heard in the state of Florida rang out on Palm Sunday morning in 1891.In 1909, yet another disaster struck and the church was wrecked by a powerful hurricane. Luckily, rectory and the parish hall survived – the latter was temporarily used for services after the storm.After losing three churches to storms and fire, plans for a stormproof structure were approved in 1911. The fourth structure was built primarily of solid concrete with the building methods and materials being heavily influenced by the construction of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railway that was under construction at the same time.The new building was designed to face Duval Street and was completed in 1919 with the pipe organ arriving in 1931 for Christmas services.The church has an extensive collection of stained glass windows that were ordered and installed beginning in 1920. A unique design of the windows is that they were intended to pivot open to catch cool ocean breezes. Today the church stands as a beacon to the faith and fortitude of Key West's ancestors.
063. San Carlos Institue
Historic Marker Number 63 is located at 516 Duval Street between Fleming and Southard streets.The San Carlos Institute is a Cuban heritage center founded in 1871 by Cuban exiles who came to Key West to plan the campaign for Cuba’s independence from Spain. José Dolores Poyo and Juan María Reyes, two distinguished leaders of the island’s Cuban community, proposed the establishment of an organization dedicated to promoting Cuban cultural values and patriotic ideals. The San Carlos was principally supported by the contributions of the Cuban tobacco workers of Key West who donated a substantial portion of their modest wages to the Institute.The San Carlos Institute was inaugurated on November 11, 1871, in a small wooden building located on Ann Street. It was named after Cuba’s Seminario San Carlos, a place of higher learning renowned for its academic excellence.Education and preservation of cultural values were the Institute’s primary missions. Classes were taught in English and Spanish to children of all races. The San Carlos thus became one of the nation’s first bilingual and integrated schools.The San Carlos moved to larger quarters on Fleming Street in 1884. Two years later, the building burned to the ground in the Great Fire of 1886 that destroyed much of Key West. Civic leader Martin Herrera led the effort that rebuilt the San Carlos on a spacious lot, at its present location, fronting Duval Street in the heart of Key West’s historic district in 1890.Many legendary figures of Cuba’s independence movement addressed the exile community at the San Carlos. First among them was José Martí, Cuba’s legendary patriot and poet, who so loved the San Carlos that he called it ‘La Casa Cuba’.When Martí first arrived in Key West, his first mission was to try to unite the various factions of the exile community. He met with each leader individually and on January 3, 1892, he addressed a massive gathering at the San Carlos and announced that a united front would be established to lead the effort for Cuba’s independence. This led to the establishment of the Partido Revolucionario Cubano that encompassed the ideals and aspirations of a united exile community. They planned and organized the War of Independence that eventually succeeded in ridding Cuba of Spanish colonial rule.Jubilant exiles gathered at the San Carlos on May 20, 1902, to celebrate Cuba’s independence. The Cuban people held the San Carlos as a treasured relic. They were heartbroken when the San Carlos was damaged beyond repair by a hurricane that devastated Key West in 1919. Efforts immediately began to rebuild the San Carlos.San Carlos president José Renedo led a delegation to Havana that secured $80,000 from the Republic of Cuba for the reconstruction of the Institute. Francisco Centurión, one of Cuba’s most prominent architects, designed the present two-story building that incorporates many elements of Cuba's architecture: spacious rooms, high ceilings, graceful curves and arches, marble stairways, louvered windows, hand-crafted mosaics and floors of checkered Cuban tile. The building opened on October 10, 1924. It was a magnificent edifice and referred to by many as ‘The jewel of Key West’.The San Carlos thrived during subsequent years. Its school continued the tradition of academic excellence under the direction of Mrs. Benildes Sánchez, who served as the San Carlos principal for 25 years. The Cuban government paid the salary of a Spanish-speaking teacher while the State of Florida paid the salary of an English-speaking teacher.Everything changed when a communist dictatorship seized power in Cuba in 1959. The financial assistance provided by the Cuban government ceased, and despite valiant efforts by some civic leaders in Key West, the local community alone was not able to sustain the aging building. Threatened with structural and financial collapse, the school closed its doors in 1973 after the building was condemned for structural deficiencies. The building remained closed for almost two decades. During this period, many of the San Carlos’ books and records were lost to the elements or to vagrants who sought shelter in the vacant building.When a portion of the San Carlos’ facade collapsed in 1981 injuring a passing tourist, some called for the building’s demolition. Other sought to restore the building as a commercial theater. Some Cuban residents of Key West and Miami sought to stop the plans for commercial development of the property, but the courts ruled against them. In 1985, in a last-ditch effort to save the San Carlos as a Cuban historical landmark, the Cuban residents of Key West and Miami appealed to Florida’s Hispanic Commission for relief. They put up a valiant effort to save the building from the forces of commercial development and eventually were able to solidify the historic importance of the building and raise the funds for the structure’s complete renovation. Community leaders, architects, builders, and artisans donated their skills to the restoration pro bono.A beautifully restored San Carlos Institute opened on January 4, 1992, exactly one hundred years from the day when José Martí delivered his first address at the Institute. Today, the San Carlos serves as a historical archive, classroom, display gallery, community gathering place, and public theater.
028. Great Fire of 1886
Historic Marker Number 28 is located on the 500 block of Duval Street.At 2:00 a.m. on the morning of April 1, 1886, the most devastating fire in Key West’s history was ignited in a small coffee shop next to the San Carlos Institute on Duval Street. This fire was more than an accident – there is evidence that this blaze, costing $2,000,000 in property damage, was set by the Spanish Empire to try to shut down Key West.At the time of the historic blaze, the Spanish Empire was entrenched in a revolution against the Cuban people. The Cuban revolutionaries depended on Key West for the majority of its financial support, to fund their soldiers fighting against the Spanish. Add this to the fact that Spain had to sell Cuban tobacco to the Key West cigar factories in order to fund their own troops, it created a vicious circle of each side being funded by Key West.It made sense for the Spanish Empire to shut down the Key West Cigar Industry to make sure that the funding for the revolutionaries was put to an end. They had other places they could sell their tobacco, but the Cuban revolutionaries had no other single place that contributed anywhere near the support that Key West did.The blaze was ignited very symbolically next to the San Carlos Institute, the club erected by the cigar manufacturers and the focal point of Cuban society in Key West. The fire ravaged the downtown area, burning down eighteen major cigar factories, 614 houses and government warehouses. Key West’s only steam fire engine was in New York being repaired at that time, another suspicious coincidence, which explains why it took twelve hours for the fire to burn itself out.There are three significant factors which add to the intrigue of this destructive fire. The first is that the blaze was actually extinguished on Whitehead Street in the early morning, but against prevailing winds the fire miraculously re-ignited on Duval Street, targeting major cigar factories. The second factor is that the following morning, there was a Spanish flotilla waiting just offshore to take all the newly unemployed Cuban workers back to Cuba. The third is that the fire was reported in an article printed by the Tobacco Leaf, a Havana newspaper printed solely for the tobacco industry, the day prior to the blaze, touting that Key West had burnt down.This fire truly was one of the worst Key West had ever seen and with all the circumstantial and suspicious evidence surrounding it, it is easy for one to draw the logical conclusion. Hopefully through in-depth research, concrete evidence will be unearthed to finally prove this blaze was no accident.
036. Ernest Hemingway Home
Historic Marker Number 36 and is located at 907 Whitehead Street on the corner of Olivia Street.The Ernest Hemingway Home is best known as being the residence of American writer Ernest Hemingway in the 1930s.The residence was constructed in 1851 in a French Colonial style by wealthy marine architect and salvager Asa Tift. The house’s site, across the street from the Key West Lighthouse, has an elevation of 16 feet sea level, making it the second-highest site on the island. In addition to the elevation, the house's 18-inch-thick limestone walls protect it during tropical storms and hurricanes.In 1928, writer Ernest Hemingway and his wife Pauline Pfeiffer moved to Key West. They spent the next three years living in rented housing but Pauline wanted something more permanent. When Pauline had first laid eyes on 907 Whitehead Street during a house-scouting tour, the property was in foreclosure and was in deep disrepair. However, after recognizing its potential, she convinced her wealthy Uncle Gus to purchase it at $8,000 for she and Ernest as a wedding present.Ernest appreciated the seclusion that the 1.5-acre lot offered him while writing his works. Most of the house’s inner furnishings were selected by Pauline, but Ernest insisted on the inclusion of his hunting trophies. The couple converted the second story of the carriage house into a writing studio for Ernest and transformed the basement into a wine cellar.While Hemingway was reporting in Spain in 1937, Pauline installed a large pool on the grounds at a cost of $20,000. Upon his return, Hemingway was irate at the costly addition. Despite his initial rage, the pool grew on Hemingway, and he later had a 6-foot brick wall erected around the property so that he could swim in private.While living at the house, Hemingway wrote some of his best received work, including the 1935 non-fiction work Green Hills of Africa, the 1936 short stories ‘The Snows of Kilimanjaro’ and ‘The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,’ and his 1937 novel To Have And Have Not.After eight years of residing at the house, Hemingway moved to Cuba in 1939 with his third wife. Following he and Pauline’s 1940 divorce, she lived in the house until her death in 1951. It then remained in Hemingway’s possession until his death in 1961. Later that year, his three sons auctioned off the house for $80,000.
067. Key West Lighthouse
Historic Marker Number 67 is located at 938 Whitehead Street on the corner of Truman Avenue.The U.S. Navy has had a presence in Key West since 1823 when it established Naval Station Key West. Almost immediately after the base was established, it became evident that a lighthouse was necessary to assure the safe arrival of both military and commercial vessels navigating the shallow, coral reef-laden waters off the Florida Keys. Sailing ships and coral reefs have never mixed well. From the 1840s to the 1860s, an average of one ship per week was wrecked on the reefs surrounding the island.In 1825, the first lighthouse, a 65-foot tall structure, was built at the shoreline of the island. This location proved fatal. During the Havana Hurricane of 1846, high winds and tidal surge destroyed a majority of the buildings on the island. The lighthouse was washed out to sea along with fourteen individuals who had taken refuge in the tower during the storm.Following the devastation, even though dangers to shipping and transportation remained, the U.S Congress allocated funds to replace the lighthouse. The current lighthouse, which was completed in 1848, stands closer to town on ground that is 14 feet above sea level. When the first lighthouse keeper, Michael Mabrity passed away before the 1846 hurricane, his wife Barbara took his place. A female keeper was nearly unheard of during the nineteenth century. To her credit, she served for thirty-two years at both Key West lighthouses.It was evident that the tower was not tall enough to serve ships out at sea, so, over time, Congress appropriated additional funding that allowed the tower and the property to undergo a number of upgrades including the installation of a Third Order Fresnel Lens in 1858. As the town expanded and trees reached maturity, the light became obscured. In 1894, an additional twenty feet was added to the tower extending the height and range of the beacon. The lighthouse currently stands at 100 feet tall. Final upgrades included the addition of the Keeper’s Quarters and eventually the electrification of the light.In 1969, the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the Key West Lighthouse with the advent of advanced technology eliminating the need for a full-time lighthouse keeper.Today, this sentinel of the sea stands as a museum dedicated to Key West’s maritime heritage and to the men and women who bravely kept the light burning through the threats of war and inclement weather.
083. Bishop Albert Kee Statue
Historic Marker Number 83 is located at the Southernmost Point at the corner of Whitehead and South streets.This bronze statue, erected in March 2015, celebrates the life of Bishop Albert Kee, a preacher, businessman and Key West’s official ambassador of goodwill. Each day, Bishop Kee was seen at the Southernmost Point greeting the Conch Tour Train with a cheerful wave and toot on a conch shell. He educated visitors about the origins of conch and various uses for conch meat and explained how Key West’s natives came to be called ‘Conchs’.Bishop Kee, and his father before him, left a fifty-year legacy of welcoming all who visited the Southernmost Point and popularized conch blowing. More important, they were emissaries of the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic community that has made Key West unique since its foundation.The two witnessed changes that came to Key West over time; changes that mirrored those occurring outside their tiny island, and that resonate to this day. Kee and his father lived in Key West when all the beaches in Florida were segregated and the sole water access area for most of Bahama Village was an area of land called the ‘Black Beach’ that was part of U.S. Army property originating from this Point and stretching to Fort Zachary Taylor.In 1948 the Army transferred most of this land to the U.S. Navy. The Navy built military housing and connected the stretch of land and beach to Truman Annex. In 1942, with the threat of World War II, the Navy erected a fence along Whitehead Street to separate their base housing from the town. This, in effect, reduced ‘Black Beach’ to a tiny patch of beach front that we now know as the Southernmost Point.From this small patch of land, Bahama Village fishermen anchored their boats, sold their catch along Whitehead Street and shared the waters with their children and families.Bishop Kee and his father, ‘Yankee’, were at the Point in 1969 when segregated beaches became illegal throughout Florida. Also, Bishop Kee witnessed the Southernmost Point evolve into a spot that thousands of tourists flock to for their photos. And he was there when the old wooden Southernmost billboard was replaced with the oversized buoy proclaiming it as the Southernmost Point in the continental United States. The buoy design originated from a large floating buoy that marked the entrance to the Black Beach.A number of years prior to this, U.S. President Harry Truman took a big step in support of equal rights when he ordered that the military become desegregated. His orders were interpreted to mean that desegregation applied only to military personnel. President Dwight D. Eisenhower took this a step further and desegregated the entire military.The historic Black Beach could not be returned to the community since a large portion of it was now a military base with Navy housing built along the adjacent shores. However, as a gesture to the community, the city built a large community pool and community center at the edge of Bahama Village. The pool was situated to look over the beaches that were once Black Beach and toward the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It had ground level space for community gatherings and was open to all.The pool is currently called the Martin Luther King Community Center and is located at 300 Catherine Street.
030. La Te Da
Historic Marker Number 30 is located at 1125 Duval Street between Amelia and Catherine streets.The home of cigar manufacturer Teodoro Perez will forever be a part of Key West’s strong ties to Cuba. Perez was the owner of the Perez Cigar Factory, one of the largest factories in the 1890s. This is one of the few grand estates remaining that was built by a prominent cigar factory owner. Most of these impressive homes were either razed by fire, damaged by storms, or were replaced in the name of progress.The house is best known for Jose Marti’s speech from the second-floor terrace during his visit to Key West on May 3, 1883 to address thousands of Cuban sympathizers. Perez welcomed the man who had become the symbol of Cuba’s bid for independence from Spain into his home to raise support and funds for the revolution.Marti is acclaimed as a national hero in the Cuban Revolution and spoke and wrote passionately for the political and intellectual independence of all Latin Americans. His life’s works were an integral part of the success of the Cuban War of Independence against Spain.Today the former home of Teodoro Perez is La Te Da, a world-renown hotel, restaurant and cabaret.
123. The Cuban Club
Historic Marker Number 123 is located at 1108 Duval Street on the corner of Amelia Street.The building was originally constructed in 1917 as a social club for Cuban cigar makers and their families. It served as a home away from home for the thousands of Cubans who escaped persecution in Cuba and followed the cigar industry to Key West.It was the center of social and community life for the Cuban population in Key West at the height of the cigar industry in Key West. The building was alive with the constant din of domino games between the cigar workers. Rum and refreshments were available, and the fragrance of roast pig and cigars were always present. The best remembered activities were the immensely popular family dances.Small portions of the building were rented for cigar production by skilled Cuban artisans. The club was also one of the first emigrant organizations in Key West to operate a health insurance plan for its members and their families. Membership guaranteed doctor’s services and entry to a local hospital when needed. A couple of similar HMO programs were prevalent in Tampa’s cigar industry based in Ybor City.The original structure was heavily fire damaged in 1983. It was restored and converted to stores on the first floor and residential rental suites on the second floor.
