Indian Key, Florida
Indian Key, Florida | |
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Indian Key was an
Early history
In 1733, 19 ships of the
Settlement and growth
In 1821, Florida was transferred from Spain to the United States, and in 1824, two Key West men, Joshua Appleby and a man named Solomon Snyder, sent an employee, Silas Fletcher, to open a store on Indian Key. The store was to serve wreckers, settlers, and Indians in the upper Keys, and a settlement of primarily Bahamian wreckers and turtlers grew up on the island. By 1829, the settlement was large enough to include a dozen women.[5][6]
Jacob Housman (or Houseman), a wrecker who had a reputation for operating in a "high-handed and often illegal manner",
The Second Seminole War began late in 1835. After the New River Massacre in early 1836, most of the Keys were abandoned, except for Key West, Key Vaca, and Indian Key. Despite fears of attack and sightings of Indians in the area, the inhabitants of Indian Key stayed to protect their property and to be close to any wrecks in the upper Keys. The islanders had six cannons and their own small militia company for their defense. (The militia company initially included six slaves; by August 1836 half of the 20-man company were blacks.) The revenue cutter Dexter was based at Indian Key for part of 1838, and after it was withdrawn ships of the Navy Florida Squadron called at Indian Key and established a supply depot there. In 1840, the Navy supply depot was moved to nearby Tea Table Key.[9][10]
Indian raid
Early in the morning of August 7, 1840, a large party of "Spanish Indians,"
The naval base on Tea Table Key had been stripped of personnel for an operation on the southwest coast of the mainland, leaving only the doctor, his patients, and five sailors under a midshipman to look after them. This small contingent mounted a couple of cannons on barges and tried to attack the Indians on Indian Key. The Indians fired back at the sailors with musket balls loaded in one of the cannons on shore. The cannons' recoil on the barges broke them loose, sending them into the water, and the sailors had to retreat. The Indians burned the buildings on Indian Key after thoroughly looting them. Abandoned by almost all of its civilian population, Indian Key was taken over by the Navy for the duration of the Second Seminole War.[16]
Decline
Indian Key continued to be occupied for a while after the Second Seminole War ended in 1842. The county seat for Dade County was moved to
Notes
References
- ^ Dodd:5
- ^ "Indian Key". GhostTowns.com.
- ^ Viele 1996. Pp. 13-4.
- ^ Viele 2001. P. 11.
- ^ Viele 1996. Pp. 13-4, 24, 33-4, 43.
- ^ Viele 2001. P. 11.
- ^ Dodd. P. 3.
- ^ Dodd. Pp. 3-6, 9-10, 12-13.
Viele 1996. Pp. 41-6. - ^ Dodd. Pp. 7-8, 13-14.
- ^ Viele 1996. Pp. 33-35.
- ^ Sturtevant, William C. (1953). "Chakaika and the "Spanish Indians"" (PDF). Tequesta. 13: 63–64. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 8, 2012. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Digital Collections Florida International University.
- ^ Worth, John E. (2012). "Creolization in Southwest Florida: Cuban Fishermen and "Spanish Indians," ca. 1766—1841". Historical Archaeology. 46 (1): 142. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
- ^ Dodd. Pp. 14-15.
- ^ Knetsch. P. 128.
- ^ Viele 1996. P. 35.
- ^ Buker. Pp. 106-107.
Dodd. Pp. 15-16.
Viele 1996. P. 36. - ^ "Miami-Dade County History". Miami Dade. Archived from the original on January 28, 2006.
- ^ Viele 1996. P. 69-70.
- ^ Viele 2001. P. 84-6.
Bibliography
- Buker, George E. (1975). Swamp Sailors: Riverine Warfare in the Everglades 1835–1842. Gainesville, Florida: The University Presses of Florida. ISBN 0-8130-1514-6.
- Dodd, Dorothy (1948). "Jacob Housman of Indian Key" (PDF). Tequesta. 8: 3–20 – via Digital Collections Florida International University.
- Knetsch, Joe (2003). Florida's Seminole Wars 1817–1858. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0-7385-2424-7.
- Viele, John (1996). The Florida Keys: A History of the Pioneers. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56164-101-4.
- Viele, John (2001). The Florida Keys: The Wreckers. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. ISBN 1-56164-219-3.
Further reading
- Driscoll, Kelly A (2003). An Archaeological Study of Architectural Form and Function at Indian Key, Florida (PDF).
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ignored (help) - Robinson, T. Ralph (1942). "Henry Perrine, Pioneer Horticulturist of Florida" (PDF). Tequesta. 2: 16–24. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 25, 2021. Retrieved December 1, 2021 – via Digital Collections Florida International University.