The original Spanish name for our beloved Key West is actually Cayo Hueso. In English, it translates into “bone cay,” which means a low island or a shallow reef. At the time, it was said that the island was originally covered in human bones of the past native inhabitants of the island. They had used the island as a communal burying ground. In fact, Spanish speaking people who live here still use the name Cayo Hueso when referring to Key West.

Our modern Key West cemetery.

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Commodore of the US Navy, Matthew C. Perry, sailed the schooner Shark to Key West on March 25, 1822. He planted the American flag on our island and claimed the Keys as the property of the United States. After this, there were no disagreements or protests over America’s claim to Key West. So we then became the official property of the United States. We’re so glad to be apart of America!

A photograph of Commodore Perry

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Our advertising agency recently was tasked with designing some ads for so recycling bins we had purchased. Watch the video to see what we got.

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Doctor Samuel Mudd was the doctor who set the broken leg of Abraham Lincoln’s assassin, John Wilkes Booth. As a consequence, Mudd was convicted of conspiracy since he helped Booth. He was sent to Fort Jefferson, which is located about 68 miles off the coast of Key West on Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas. Take the Yankee Freedom III to the Fort and explore the place where Mudd was held and go snorkeling around the fort!

An aerial picture of Fort Jefferson

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Did you know that while Florida seceded and joined the Confederate States of America, Key West remained in Union hands because of our naval base? Even though Key West was technically apart of the Union, most Key Westerners were Confederate sympathizers and many even flew Confederate flags over their homes. Nevertheless, Fort Zachary Taylor, and the East and West Martello Towers served as side armories and batteries, which were very important as a Union outpost during the war.

An aerial picture of modern Fort Zachary Taylor.

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When WWII broke out, the Navy stationed here in Key West increased its presence from 50 acres to 3, 000 acres! This included all of Boca Chica Key and the construction of Fleming Key. Luckily, the naval presence in Key West also allowed the Navy to construct the first freshwater pipeline that covered all of the keys and supplied freshwater to all of the Naval bases. At the most there were 15, 000 military persons and 3, 4000 civilians at the bases!

Key West’s Naval Symbol

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Key West’s northern coastline of the deepwater channels, the Florida Straits, connect the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, Key West was always a necessary and important American military post. So since the 1820s, Key West has been called the “Gibraltar of the West” because the Gibraltar is a channel between the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula and North Africa that is the only outlet of the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Cool, huh?

The yellow L-shaped bar represents the Florida Straits.

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Why is Key West referred to as the Conch Republic? Because in 1982, there was a blockade set up on US1 right were the northern part of the Overseas Highway meets the mainland in Florida City. Every car was stopped from leaving the Keys and searched for illegal immigrants, which was the government’s response to the Mariel Boatlift. This blockage severely damaged the tourism industry and basically paralyzed Key West’s economy for a time. So the city of Key West briefly declared its independence from America as the Conch Republic! The conch symbol is still heavily celebrated in Key West and remains one of our most prominent symbols.

Our Conch Republic Flag! Very befitting of our precious island!

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Before the Cuban Revolution in 1959, there were actually regular ferry and airplane flights between Key West and Havana! Key West had a plethora of refugees from Cuba during the period of the Mariel Boatlift. These refugees have continued to come ashore well into modern day. In fact, in 2003, Cuban refugees took over Cuban Airline planes and flew into Key West’s airport!

A picture capturing the landing of Cuban refugees into Key West’s airport

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Did you know that John F. Kennedy used the phrase “90 miles from Cuba” in many of his speeches against Fidel Castro? Kennedy even visited Key West a month after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis! We were lucky to have had him in our midst!

A picture of JFK visiting our wonderful little island!

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