A Spanish treasure fleet wrecked off the Florida Keys in 1733, leading to the first newspaper reporting from the Florida Keys.
The story of Cuban exile Juana Borrero Pierra – who died in Key West in 1896 at the age of 18 – is that of a precociously gifted poet and painter, but it is also a potent reminder of the deep and strong connections between Key West and Cuba – ties that forever bind the islands’ cultures.
The construction of the last substantial tall ship built in Key West in 1938 and ’39, from the laying of the keel to its final trial run, was documented in the Key West Citizen.
Slavery was part of Florida Keys culture from the time of the first American settlement in 1822. But Key West’s status as a Union stronghold meant the slavery and emancipation story played out quite differently from other parts of Florida or the U.S.
Over two days in December 1927, a Jacksonville car dealer and a race car driver made the first automobile journey from Miami to Key West – driving over railroad tracks for a large segment of the trip.
Dr. Lemuel W. Livingston arrived in Key West in 1888. He served as principal of Douglass School, as the island’s first Black physician and pharmacist – and documented life on the island for northern publications.
Crazy Ophelia’s Cafe was not open for long, but it was the site of one of Jimmy Buffett’s first Key West gigs – and the first place he performed “Margaritaville.”
Archaeological evidence shows Caribbean monk seals were part of the Keys ecological system thousands of years ago, and remarkably, historical narratives reveal that they are not-so-long-gone: Until about 100 years ago, seals could still be found swimming in Keys waters and lounging on local sandy shoals.
John Loomis Blodgett was the first botanist of significance to explore the flora of the Florida Keys and mainland South Florida, and the specimens he collected were crucial new additions to many of the important botanical publications of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Henry Patterson’s diary from 1843 offers important, never-before-seen details about the circumstances and lifestyles in the Lower Florida Keys in the territorial period.