Key West
Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park with St. Paul's Episcopal Church | ||
FIPS code 12-36550[4] | | |
GNIS feature ID | 0294048[5] | |
---|---|---|
Website | www |
Key West (Spanish: Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it constitutes the City of Key West.
The island of Key West is about 4 miles (6 kilometers) long and 1 mile (2 km) wide, with a total land area of 4.2 square miles (11 km2).[6] It lies at the southernmost end of U.S. Route 1, the longest north–south road in the United States. Key West is about 95 miles (153 km) north of Cuba at their closest points.[7][8] It is also 130 miles (210 km) southwest of Miami by air, about 165 miles (266 km) by road,[9] and 106 miles (171 km) north-northeast of Havana.[7]
The city of Key West is the county seat of Monroe County, which includes a majority of the Florida Keys and part of the Everglades.[10][11] The total land area of the city is 5.6 square miles (14.5 km2).[12] The population within the city limits was 26,444 at the 2020 census.[3] The official city motto is "One Human Family".
Key West is the southernmost city in the contiguous United States and the westernmost island connected by highway in the Florida Keys. Duval Street, its main street, is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) in length in its 14-block-long crossing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Straits of Florida and the Atlantic Ocean. Key West is the southern terminus of U.S. Route 1, State Road A1A, the East Coast Greenway and, before 1935, the Florida East Coast Railway. Key West is a port of call for many passenger cruise ships.[13] The Key West International Airport provides airline service. Naval Air Station Key West is an important year-round training site for naval aviation due to the tropical weather, which is also the reason Key West was chosen as the site of President Harry S. Truman's Winter White House. The central business district is located along Duval Street and includes much of the northwestern corner of the island.
History
Precolonial and colonial times
At various times before the 19th century, people who were related or subject to the Calusa and the Tequesta inhabited Key West. The last Native American residents of Key West were Calusa refugees who were taken to Cuba when Florida was transferred from Spain to Great Britain in 1763.[14]
Cayo Hueso (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaʝo ˈweso]) is the original Spanish name for the island of Key West. It literally means "bone cay", cay referring to a low island or reef. It is said that the island was littered with the remains (bones) of prior native inhabitants, who used the isle as a communal graveyard.[15] This island was the westernmost Key with a reliable supply of water.[16]
Between 1763, when Great Britain took control of Florida from Spain, and 1821, when the United States took possession of Florida from Spain, there were few or no permanent inhabitants anywhere in the Florida Keys. Cubans and Bahamians regularly visited the Keys, the Cubans primarily to fish, while the Bahamians fished, caught turtles, cut hardwood timber, and salvaged wrecks. Smugglers and privateers also used the Keys for concealment. In 1766 the British governor of East Florida recommended that a post be set up on Key West to improve control of the area, but nothing came of it. During both the British and Spanish periods no nation exercised de facto control. The Bahamians apparently set up camps in the Keys that were occupied for months at a time, and there were rumors of permanent settlements in the Keys by 1806 or 1807, but the locations are not known. Fishermen from New England started visiting the Keys after the end of the War of 1812, and may have briefly settled on Key Vaca in 1818.[17]
Ownership claims
In 1815, the
On March 25, 1822, Lt. Commander Matthew C. Perry sailed the schooner USS Shark to Key West and planted the U.S. flag, claiming the Keys as United States property.[18] No protests were made over the American claim on Key West, so the Florida Keys became the de facto property of the United States.
After claiming the Florida Keys for the United States, Perry renamed Cayo Hueso (Key West) to Thompson's Island for
First developers
Soon after his purchase, John Simonton subdivided the island into plots and sold three undivided quarters of each plot to:
- John Mountain and U.S. Consul John Warner, who quickly resold their quarter to Pardon C. Greene, who took up residence on the island. Greene is the only one of the four "founding fathers" to establish himself permanently on the island, where he became quite prominent as head of P.C. Greene and Company. He was a member of the city council[19] and also served briefly as mayor. He died in 1838 at the age of 57.
- John Whitehead, his friend who had advised him to buy Key West.Civil Warin 1861, and died the next year.
- John Fleeming (nowadays spelled Fleming).[20] John W.C. Fleeming was English-born and was active in mercantile business in Mobile, Alabama, where he befriended John Simonton. Fleeming spent only a few months in Key West in 1822 and left for Massachusetts, where he married. He returned to Key West in 1832 with the intention of developing salt manufacturing on the island but died the same year at the age of 51.
Simonton spent the winter in Key West and the summer in Washington, where he lobbied hard for the development of the island and to establish a naval base on the island, both to take advantage of the island's strategic location and to bring law and order to the town. He died in 1854.
The names of the four "founding fathers"[21] of modern Key West were given to main arteries of the island when it was first platted in 1829 by William Adee Whitehead, John Whitehead's younger brother. That first plat and the names used remained mostly intact and are still in use today. Duval Street, the island's main street, is named after Florida's first territorial governor, William Pope Duval, who served between 1822 and 1834 as the longest-serving governor in Florida's U.S. history.
William Whitehead became chief editorial writer for the Enquirer, a local newspaper, in 1834. He preserved copies of his newspaper as well as copies from the Key West Gazette, its predecessor. He later sent those copies to the Monroe County clerk for preservation, which gives us a view of life in Key West in the early days (1820–1840).
In the 1830s, Key West was the richest city per capita in the United States.[22]
In 1846, the city suffered severely from the 1846 Havana hurricane.
In 1852 the first Catholic Church, St. Mary's Star-Of-The-Sea, was built. The year 1864 became a landmark for the church in South Florida when five Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary arrived from Montreal, Canada, and established the first Catholic school in South Florida. At the time it was called Convent of Mary Immaculate. The school is still operating today and is now known as Mary Immaculate Star of the Sea School.
American Civil War and late 19th century
During the
In the 19th century, major industries included wrecking, fishing, turtling, and salt manufacturing.[26] From 1830 to 1861, Key West was a major center of U.S. salt production, harvesting the commodity from the sea (via receding tidal pools) rather than from salt mines.[26] After the outbreak of the Civil War, Union troops shut down the salt industry after Confederate sympathizers smuggled the product into the South.[26] Salt production resumed at the end of the war, but the industry was destroyed by an 1876 hurricane and never recovered, in part because of new salt mines on the mainland.[26]
During the Ten Years' War (an unsuccessful Cuban war for independence in the 1860s and 1870s), many Cubans sought refuge in Key West. Several cigar factories relocated to the city from Cuba, and Key West quickly became a major producer of cigars. A fire on April 1, 1886, that started at a coffee shop next to the San Carlos Institute and spread out of control, destroyed 18 cigar factories and 614 houses and government warehouses.[27] Some factory owners chose not to rebuild and instead moved their operations to the new community of Ybor City in Tampa, leading to a slow decline in the cigar industry in Key West. Still, Key West remained the largest and wealthiest city in Florida at the end of the 1880s.[23]
20th century
In October 1909, Key West was devastated by the 1909 Florida Keys hurricane. Further damage was suffered the following year in the 1910 Cuba hurricane.
Key West was relatively isolated until 1912, when it was connected to the Florida mainland via the
The 1919 Florida Keys hurricane caused catastrophic damage to the area.
On December 25, 1921, Manuel Cabeza was lynched by members of the Ku Klux Klan for living with a black woman.[28]
The
The
During World War II, more than 14,000 ships came through the island's harbor. The population, because of an influx of soldiers, sailors, laborers, and tourists, sometimes doubled or even tripled at times during the war.[29]
Starting in 1946, US President Harry S. Truman established a working vacation home in Key West, the Harry S. Truman Little White House, where he would spend 175 days of his presidency.
In 1948, Key West suffered damage from two hurricanes within as many months, from the September 1948 Florida hurricane then the 1948 Miami hurricane.
Prior to the
John F. Kennedy was to use "90 miles from Cuba" extensively in his speeches against Fidel Castro. Kennedy himself visited Key West a month after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
In 1982, the city of Key West briefly asserted independence as the
In 1998 Hurricane Georges damaged the city.
In 2017, Hurricane Irma caused substantial damage with wind and flooding, killing three people.
Geography
Key West is an island located at 24°33′55″N 81°46′33″W / 24.565176°N 81.775794°W[1] in the Straits of Florida. The island is about 4 miles (6 km) long and 1 mile (2 km) wide, with a total land area of 4.2 square miles (10.9 km2; 2,688.0 acres).[6] The average elevation above sea level is about 8 feet (2.4 m) and the maximum elevation is about 18 feet (5.5 m), within a 1-acre (0-hectare) area known as Solares Hill.[30][31]
The city of Key West is the southernmost city in the contiguous United States,[6] and the island is the westernmost island connected by highway in the Florida Keys. The city boundaries include the island of Key West and several nearby islands, as well as the section of Stock Island north of U.S. Route 1, on the adjacent key to the east. The total land area of the city is 5.6 square miles (15 km2), with an additional 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2) of surrounding water within the city limits.[2] Sigsbee Park—originally known as Dredgers Key—and Fleming Key, both located to the north, and Sunset Key located to the west are all included in the city boundaries. Both Fleming Key and Sigsbee Park are part of Naval Air Station Key West and are inaccessible to the general public.
In the late 1950s, many of the large
Key West and most of the rest of the Florida Keys are on the dividing line between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The two bodies have different currents, with the calmer and warmer Gulf of Mexico being characterized by great clumps of seagrass. The area where the two bodies merge between Key West and Cuba is called the Straits of Florida. The warmest ocean waters anywhere on the United States mainland are found in the Florida Keys in winter, with sea surface temperatures averaging in the 75–77 °F (24–25 °C) range in December through February.
Duval Street is the main street in Key West and is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) in length in its 14-block-long crossing from the Gulf of Mexico to the Straits of Florida and the Atlantic Ocean.
Key West is closer to Havana (about 106 miles or 171 kilometers by air or sea)[7] than it is to Miami (130 miles or 210 kilometers by air or 165 miles or 266 kilometers by road).[9] Key West is the usual endpoint for marathon swims from Cuba, including Diana Nyad's 2013 record-setting swim as the first completed without a shark cage or fins[32][33] and Susie Maroney's 1997 swim from within a shark cage.[34]
Notable places
Old Town
The earliest Key West neighborhoods, on the western part of the island, are broadly known as
Many of the structures in Old Town date from 1886 to 1912. The basic features that distinguish the local architecture include wood-frame construction of one- to two-and-a-half-story structures set on foundation piers about three feet (one meter) above the ground. Exterior characteristics of the buildings are peaked metal roofs, horizontal wood siding,
Some antebellum structures survive, including the Oldest (or Cussans-Watlington) House (1829–1836)[35] and the John Huling Geiger House (1846–1849), now preserved as the Audubon House and Tropical Gardens.[36] Fortifications such as Fort Zachary Taylor,[37] the East Martello Tower,[38] and the West Martello Tower,[39] helped ensure that Key West would remain in Union control throughout the Civil War. Another landmark built by the federal government is the Key West Lighthouse, now a museum.[40]
Two of the most notable buildings in
Several historical residences of the Curry family remain extant, including the Benjamin Curry House, built by the brother of Florida's first millionaire, William Curry,[44] as well as the Southernmost House and the Fogarty Mansion, built by the children of William Curry—his daughter Florida and son Charles, respectively.[45]
In addition to architecture,
Casa Marina
The Casa Marina area takes its name from the Casa Marina Hotel, opened in 1921,[49] the neighborhood's most conspicuous landmark. The Reynolds Street Pier, Higgs Beach,[50] the West Martello Tower, the White Street Pier, and Rest Beach line the waterfront.[citation needed]
Southernmost point in the United States
One of the most popular attractions on the island is a concrete replica of a buoy at the corner of South and Whitehead Streets that claims to be the southernmost point in the contiguous United States. The point was originally marked with a basic sign. The city of Key West erected the current monument in 1983.[51] The monument was repainted after damage by Hurricane Irma in 2017, and is the most often photographed tourist site in the Florida Keys.[52]
Although the monument is labeled "Southernmost point continental U.S.A.", the actual southernmost point of Key West is Whitehead Spit, which is on the Truman Annex property just west of the buoy. The spit has no marker since it is on U.S. Navy land that cannot be entered by civilian tourists. The private property directly to the east of the buoy, and the beach areas of Truman Annex and Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park, also lie farther south than the buoy. The southernmost point of the contiguous United States is Ballast Key, a privately owned island just south and west of Key West. The southernmost location that the public can visit is the beach at Fort Zachary Taylor park.
The monument states "90 Miles to Cuba", although Key West and Cuba are actually about 95 statute miles (153 kilometers; 83 nautical miles) apart at their closest points.[7][8] Note that the distance from the monument to Havana is, however, about 90 nautical miles (104 statute miles; 167 kilometers).[7]
Key West Library
The first public library was officially established in 1853, which was housed in the then-Masonic Temple on Simonston Street, near where the federal courthouse is today. At the time, the first library president was James Lock, with the librarian being William Delaney. At the time, the library collected held 1,200 volumes for residents to access.[citation needed]
In 1919, a hurricane destroyed the library. Key West residents moved the library to various locations across the island. The county took over and finally found a permanent location. The library's new location was found in 1959. It was built on Fleming Street, where it is still found today.[citation needed]
"Spoonbill"
In 1961, the Monroe County Library System sponsored a bookmobile, "Spoonbill", to service the entire Keys.[53] By 1962, "Spoonbill" was making stops in ten different Keys, over one hundred miles (160 km), from Key Largo in the North to Key West in the South.[53] Mrs. Barbara Banning was the driver-librarian, driving over 25,000 miles (40,000 km) in the first year and a half, circulating more than 28,000 titles.[53]
On Mondays, the "Spoonbill" would be loaded with books in Key West and Banning and her assistant, or volunteer, would drive up to Key Largo, Tavernier, and Islamorada, stopping for an hour in each location; Wednesdays the "Spoonbill" made stops in Marathon, Big Pine, Little Torch, and Summerland.[53]
On Thursdays, the "Spoonbill" would only travel twenty miles (32 km) from home base, making stops in Bay Point, Big Coppitt, and Gulf Rest. At Bay Point there was a popular children's story hour, servicing roughly three hundred school-age children and led by former kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Ernest Hense.[53]
Collection
The Key West Library has a collection of 70,000 items, including a letter from singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. Dated from October 22, 1984, the letter expresses gratitude for the library in giving inspiration for the songs he would eventually write, and for the air conditioning.[54] As of 2022, the Key West Library is a part of the Monroe County Public Library System.[55]
Notable residences
Little White House
Several U.S. presidents have visited Key West with the first being Ulysses S. Grant in 1880, followed by Grover Cleveland in 1889, and William Howard Taft in 1912.[56] Taft was the first president to use the first officer's quarters that would later be known as the Little White House.[57] Franklin D. Roosevelt visited the Florida Keys many times, beginning in 1917.[56]
Harry S. Truman visited Key West for a total of 175 days on 11 visits during his presidency and visited five times after he left office. His first visit was in 1946.[58] The Little White House and Truman Annex take their names from his frequent and well-documented visits. The residence is also known as the Winter White House as Truman stayed there mostly in the winter months, and used it for official business such as the Truman Doctrine.[59]
Dwight D. Eisenhower stayed at the Little White House following a heart attack in 1955.[56] John F. Kennedy visited Key West in March 1961, and in November 1962, a month after the resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Jimmy Carter visited the Little White House twice with his family after he had left office, in 1996 and 2007.[58]
Ernest Hemingway house
Legend has it that
Hardware store owner Charles Thompson introduced him to deep-sea fishing. Among the group who went fishing was Joe Russell (also known as Sloppy Joe). Some scholars believe Russell was the model for Freddy in To Have and Have Not.[62] The group had nicknames for each other, and Hemingway wound up with "Papa".
Pauline's rich uncle Gus Pfeiffer bought the 907 Whitehead Street house[63] in 1931 as a wedding present. The Hemingways installed a swimming pool for $20,000 in 1937–38 (equivalent to about $327,778 in 2023). The unexpectedly high cost prompted Hemingway to put a penny in the wet cement of the patio, saying, "Here, take the last penny I've got!" The penny is at the north end of the pool.[64]
During his stay he wrote or worked on
The six- or seven-toed
Pauline and Hemingway divorced in 1939; Hemingway only occasionally visited when returning from Havana until his suicide in 1961.[citation needed]
Tennessee Williams house
Even though Hemingway and Williams lived in Key West at the same time, they reportedly met only once—at Hemingway's home in Cuba, Finca Vigía.[67]
Port of Key West
The first cruise ship to adopt the port was the Sunward in 1969. It docked at Pier B, which was owned at that time by the U.S. Navy.
In 1984, the city opened a cruise terminal at Mallory Square. The decision was met with opponents who claimed that it would disrupt the tradition of watching the sunset at Mallory Square.[68]
Today, the Port of Key West includes Key West Bight, Garrison Bight at City Marina, as well as three docks that could be used by cruise ships.[68]
Climate
Key West has a
Prevailing easterly
Wet and dry seasons
Like most tropical climates, Key West has a two-season wet and dry climate. The period from November through April is normally sunny and fairly dry, with only 25 percent of the annual rainfall occurring. May through October is normally the wet season. During the wet season some rain falls on most days, often as brief, but heavy tropical downpours, followed by intense sun. Early morning is the favored time for these showers, which is different from mainland Florida, where showers and thunderstorms usually occur in the afternoon.
Easterly (tropical) waves during this season occasionally bring excessive rainfall, while infrequent
Hurricanes
Key West, like the rest of the Florida Keys, is vulnerable to
Some locals maintain that Hurricane Wilma on October 24, 2005, was the worst storm in memory. The entire island was told to evacuate and business owners were forced to shut their doors. After the hurricane had passed, the resulting storm surge sent eight feet (two meters) of water inland completely inundating a large portion of the lower Keys. Low-lying areas of Key West and the lower Keys, including major tourist destinations, were under as much as three feet (one meter) of water. Sixty percent of the homes in Key West were flooded.[72] The higher parts of Old Town, such as the Solares Hill and cemetery areas, did not flood, because of their higher elevations of 12 to 18 feet (4 to 5 m).[73] The surge destroyed tens of thousands of cars throughout the lower Keys, and many houses were flooded with one to two feet (thirty to sixty-one centimeters) of sea water. A local newspaper referred to Key West and the lower Keys as a "car graveyard".[74] The peak of the storm surge occurred when the eye of Wilma had already passed over the Naples area, and the sustained winds during the surge were less than 40 mph (64 km/h; 35 kn).[73] The storm destroyed the piers at the clothing-optional Atlantic Shores Motel and breached the shark tank at the Key West Aquarium, freeing its sharks. Damage postponed the island's famous Halloween Fantasy Fest until the following December. MTV's The Real World: Key West was filming during the hurricane and deals with the storm.
In September 2005,
The most intense previous hurricane was
Climate data for Key West Int'l, Florida (1991–2020 normals,[a] extremes 1872−present)[b] | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °F (°C) | 90 (32) |
87 (31) |
89 (32) |
91 (33) |
94 (34) |
96 (36) |
97 (36) |
97 (36) |
95 (35) |
93 (34) |
91 (33) |
88 (31) |
97 (36) |
Mean maximum °F (°C) | 81.9 (27.7) |
82.5 (28.1) |
84.1 (28.9) |
86.2 (30.1) |
88.8 (31.6) |
91.0 (32.8) |
92.2 (33.4) |
92.3 (33.5) |
91.5 (33.1) |
89.1 (31.7) |
85.4 (29.7) |
82.9 (28.3) |
92.7 (33.7) |
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 75.8 (24.3) |
77.4 (25.2) |
79.6 (26.4) |
82.6 (28.1) |
85.9 (29.9) |
88.7 (31.5) |
90.2 (32.3) |
90.6 (32.6) |
89.0 (31.7) |
85.8 (29.9) |
81.0 (27.2) |
77.7 (25.4) |
83.7 (28.7) |
Daily mean °F (°C) | 70.6 (21.4) |
72.3 (22.4) |
74.4 (23.6) |
77.9 (25.5) |
81.1 (27.3) |
84.1 (28.9) |
85.4 (29.7) |
85.5 (29.7) |
84.1 (28.9) |
81.3 (27.4) |
76.6 (24.8) |
73.0 (22.8) |
78.9 (26.1) |
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 65.5 (18.6) |
67.1 (19.5) |
69.3 (20.7) |
73.1 (22.8) |
76.4 (24.7) |
79.4 (26.3) |
80.6 (27.0) |
80.5 (26.9) |
79.2 (26.2) |
76.8 (24.9) |
72.2 (22.3) |
68.3 (20.2) |
74.0 (23.3) |
Mean minimum °F (°C) | 51.8 (11.0) |
55.0 (12.8) |
58.5 (14.7) |
63.6 (17.6) |
69.5 (20.8) |
73.5 (23.1) |
74.5 (23.6) |
74.1 (23.4) |
74.1 (23.4) |
69.3 (20.7) |
62.4 (16.9) |
56.6 (13.7) |
50.1 (10.1) |
Record low °F (°C) | 41 (5) |
44 (7) |
47 (8) |
48 (9) |
63 (17) |
65 (18) |
68 (20) |
68 (20) |
64 (18) |
59 (15) |
49 (9) |
44 (7) |
41 (5) |
Average precipitation inches (mm) | 1.83 (46) |
1.54 (39) |
1.53 (39) |
2.07 (53) |
3.12 (79) |
4.23 (107) |
3.63 (92) |
5.37 (136) |
7.24 (184) |
5.67 (144) |
2.05 (52) |
2.15 (55) |
40.44 (1,027) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 6.9 | 4.9 | 4.8 | 4.5 | 7.5 | 11.2 | 11.6 | 14.6 | 15.8 | 12.1 | 6.3 | 6.4 | 106.6 |
Average relative humidity (%)
|
76.0 | 74.3 | 73.0 | 70.1 | 71.8 | 74.0 | 72.2 | 73.4 | 75.3 | 75.1 | 76.0 | 76.2 | 74.0 |
Average dew point °F (°C) | 61.3 (16.3) |
61.2 (16.2) |
63.9 (17.7) |
65.8 (18.8) |
70.0 (21.1) |
73.6 (23.1) |
74.3 (23.5) |
74.7 (23.7) |
74.3 (23.5) |
70.9 (21.6) |
66.7 (19.3) |
63.1 (17.3) |
68.3 (20.2) |
Mean monthly sunshine hours | 249.6 | 245.4 | 308.8 | 324.6 | 340.3 | 314.0 | 325.2 | 306.6 | 269.6 | 254.7 | 230.9 | 234.5 | 3,404.2 |
Percent possible sunshine | 75 | 77 | 83 | 85 | 82 | 77 | 78 | 76 | 73 | 71 | 70 | 71 | 77 |
Source: NOAA (relative humidity, dew point and sun 1961−1990)[70][75][76] |
Climate data for Key West | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Average sea temperature °F (°C) | 71.2 (21.8) |
71.2 (21.8) |
73.2 (22.9) |
77.7 (25.4) |
80.6 (27.0) |
83.3 (28.5) |
85.5 (29.7) |
86.9 (30.5) |
85.5 (29.7) |
82.8 (28.2) |
78.4 (25.8) |
74.5 (23.6) |
79.2 (26.2) |
Mean daily daylight hours | 11.0 | 11.0 | 12.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 14.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | 12.0 | 12.0 | 11.0 | 11.0 | 12.2 |
Average Ultraviolet index | 6 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 6 | 9.3 |
Source: Weather Atlas[77] |
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org. |
See or edit raw graph data.
Demographics
Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
---|---|---|---|
1840 | 688 | — | |
1850 | 2,367 | 244.0% | |
1860 | 2,832 | 19.6% | |
1870 | 5,016 | 77.1% | |
1880 | 9,890 | 97.2% | |
1890 | 18,080 | 82.8% | |
1900 | 17,114 | −5.3% | |
1910 | 19,945 | 16.5% | |
1920 | 18,749 | −6.0% | |
1930 | 12,831 | −31.6% | |
1940 | 12,927 | 0.7% | |
1950 | 26,433 | 104.5% | |
1960 | 33,956 | 28.5% | |
1970 | 29,312 | −13.7% | |
1980 | 24,382 | −16.8% | |
1990 | 24,832 | 1.8% | |
2000 | 25,478 | 2.6% | |
2010 | 24,649 | −3.3% | |
2020 | 26,444 | 7.3% | |
U.S. Decennial Census[78] |
2010 and 2020 census
Race | Pop 2010[79] | Pop 2020[80] | % 2010 | % 2020 |
---|---|---|---|---|
White (NH)
|
16,286 | 16,160 | 66.07% | 61.11% |
Black or African American (NH)
|
2,215 | 2,562 | 8.99% | 9.69% |
Alaska Native (NH)
|
84 | 59 | 0.34% | 0.22% |
Asian (NH) | 386 | 609 | 1.57% | 2.30% |
Native Hawaiian (NH)
|
34 | 35 | 0.14% | 0.13% |
Some other race (NH)
|
44 | 186 | 0.18% | 0.70% |
Two or more races/Multiracial (NH) | 372 | 904 | 1.51% | 3.42% |
Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 5,228 | 5,929 | 21.21% | 22.42% |
Total | 24,649 | 26,444 |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 26,444 people, 10,788 households, and 5,701 families residing in the city.[81]
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 24,649 people, 9,388 households, and 4,813 families residing in the city.[82]
2000 census
As of the
In 2000, there were 10,501 households, out of which 19.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.7% were married couples living together, 8.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 50.4% were classified as non-families. Of all households, 31.4% were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.84.
In 2000, the population was spread out, with 16.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 37.1% from 25 to 44, 26.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 122.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.0 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household was $43,021, and the median income for those classified as families was $50,895. Males had a median income of $30,967 versus $25,407 for females. The per capita income for the city was $26,316. About 5.8% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 11.5% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.
The ancestries most reported in 2000 were English (12.4%), German (12.2%), Irish (11.3%), Italian (6.8%), American (6.0%) and French (3.6%).
The number of families (as defined by the US census bureau) declined dramatically in the last four decades of the 20th century. In 1960, there were 13,340 families in Key West, with 42.1% of households having children living in them. By 2000, the population had dwindled to 5,463 families, with only 19.9% of households having children living in them.[85]
As of 2000, 76.66% spoke
"Conchs"
Many of the residents of Key West were immigrants from the
Many of the black Bahamian immigrants who arrived later lived in
Cuban presence
Key West is closer to Havana (106 miles or 171 kilometres)[7] than it is to Miami (130 mi; 210 km).[9] In 1890, Key West had a population of nearly 18,800 and was the biggest and richest city in Florida.[89] Half the residents were said to be of Cuban origin, and Key West regularly had Cuban mayors, including the son of Carlos Manuel de Céspedes, father of the Cuban Republic, who was elected mayor in 1876.[90] Cubans were actively involved in reportedly 200 factories in town, producing 100 million cigars annually. José Martí made several visits to seek recruits for Cuban independence starting in 1891 and founded the Cuban Revolutionary Party during his visits to Key West.[90]
Key West received a large number of refugees during the
Government and politics
Key West Government is governed via the mayor-council system. The city council is known as the city commission. It consists of six members each elected from individual districts. The mayor is elected in a citywide vote.
Mayors
Mayors of Key West have reflected the city's cultural and ethnic heritage. Among its mayors are the first Cuban mayor and one of the first openly gay mayors.[citation needed] One mayor is also famous for having water-skied to Cuba.[92]
Military presence
NAS Key West, Boca Chica and the Truman Annex have been the home of U.S. ships, submarines, Pegasus-class hydrofoils, Fighter Training Squadrons like the current VFC-111 "Sundowners", and Light Photographic Reconnaissance Squadrons like the former VFP-62 "Fighting Photos" during the Cuban Missile Crisis. NAS Key West is still a training facility for US Naval Aviation personnel.[93][94]
Key West has had a military presence since 1823, shortly after its purchase by Simonton in 1822. John W. Simonton lobbied the U.S. government to establish a naval base on Key West, both to take advantage of its strategic location and to bring law and order to the Key West town. On March 25, 1822, naval officer
Key West was always an important military post, since it sits at the northern edge of the deepwater channel connecting the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico (the southern edge 90 miles [140 km] away is Cuba) via the
At the beginning of World War II the Navy increased its presence from 50 to 3,000 acres (20 to 1,214 hectares), including all of Boca Chica Key's 1,700 acres (690 ha) and the construction of Fleming Key from landfill. The Navy built the first water pipeline extending the length of the Keys, bringing fresh water from the mainland to supply its bases.[99] At its peak 15,000 military personnel and 3,400 civilians were at the base. Included in the base are:
- Dry Tortugas. Many of the training missions are directed at the Marquesas "Patricia" Target 29 nautical miles (54 km) due west of the base. The target is a grounded ship hulk 306 feet (93 m) in length that is visible only at low tide. Bombs are not actually dropped on the target.
- Truman Annex – The area next to Fort Taylor became a submarine pen and was used for the Fleet Sonar School. President Harry S. Truman was to make the commandant's house his winter White House. The Fort Taylor Annex was later renamed the U.S. Southern Command. The Navy still owns its piers.
- Trumbo Point Annex – The docking area on what had been the railroad yard for Flagler's Overseas Railroad is now used by the Coast Guard as Coast Guard Sector Key West and Coast Guard Station Key West, to include being the homeport for several Coast Guard cutters. It is also home to the Bachelor Officers Quarters (BOQ) for NAS Key West and contains additional married family military housing.
Media
Key West is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale television market. It is served by rebroadcast transmitters in Key West and Marathon that repeat the Miami-Fort Lauderdale stations. Comcast provides cable television service. DirecTV and Dish Network provide Miami-Fort Lauderdale local stations and national channels.
The Key West area has 11 FM radio stations, 4 FM translators, and 2 am stations. WEOW 92.7 is the home of The Rude Girl & Molly Blue, a popular morning zoo duo; Bill Bravo is the afternoon host. SUN 99.5 has Hoebee and Miss Loretta in the p.m. drive. Island 106.9 FM is the only locally owned, independent FM station in Key West, featuring alternative rock music and community programs.
The Florida Keys Keynoter and the Key West Citizen are published locally and serve Key West and Monroe County. The Southernmost Flyer, a weekly publication printed in conjunction with the Citizen, is produced by the Public Affairs Department of Naval Air Station Key West and serves the local military community. Key West the Newspaper (known locally as The Blue Paper due to its colorful header) is a local weekly investigative newspaper, established in 1994 by Dennis Cooper, taken over in 2013 as a fully digital publication by Arnaud and Naja Girard.[100]
In October 2022, TheKeys411.com launched KeyWestPlus.com, or KeyWest+, on Roku. The channel spotlights local musicians, people of interest, and lifestyle topics in Key West and The Florida Keys.
Education
Monroe County School District operates public schools in Key West.
District-operated elementary schools serving the City of Key West include Poinciana Elementary School, which is located on the island of Key West, and Gerald Adams Elementary School, which is located on
The main campus of The College of the Florida Keys (formerly Florida Keys Community College) is located in Key West.[105]
Notable people
See also
- Conch Republic
- Key West Butterfly and Nature Conservatory
- Key West Tropical Forest & Botanical Garden
- Neighborhoods in Key West, Florida
- Port of Key West
- The Studios of Key West
- Key West Cemetery
Explanatory notes
- ^ Mean monthly maxima and minima (i.e. the highest and lowest temperature readings during an entire month or year) calculated based on data at said location from 1991 to 2020.
- ^ Official records for Key West were kept at the Weather Bureau in downtown from January 1871 to February 1958, and at Key West Int'l since March 1958. For more information, see ThreadEx.
References
- ^ a b c "2010 Census U.S. Gazetteer Files – Places National". United States Census Bureau. n.d. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved February 16, 2020.
- ^ a b "2022 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Florida". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ a b "P1. Race – Key West city, Florida: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved January 18, 2023.
- ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
- ^ a b c "Key West City Information: Regional Setting". February 4, 2006. Archived from the original on December 24, 2013.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ a b c d e f "ACME Mapper". ACME Labs.
Zoom out, drag map until the center pointer is on the Cuban coast, zoom in and adjust position, then click the 'Markers' button at bottom right of map. Units can be changed via the 'Options' button.
- ^ a b "Latitude/Longitude Distance Calculator". National Hurricane Center.
Coordinates used for Key West (the Whitehead Spit): 24.54410 (N), 81.80486 (W), and for Cuba (a headland just west of Santa Cruz del Norte): 23.18375 (N), 82.0003 (W).
- ^ a b c "Distance from Miami, FL to Key West, FL". Retrieved February 14, 2019.
- ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ^ "Emerald Keys". Archived from the original on November 7, 2007.
- ^ "2016 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved July 7, 2017.
- ^ Lizette Alvarez (December 24, 2012). "Key West Looks at Identity as It Plots Tourism Future". The New York Times. Retrieved December 25, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-56164-101-7.
- ^ "Exploring Florida Documents: Key West: General History and Sketches". Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ Windhorn, Stan & Langley, Wright 1973. Yesterday's Key West
- ISBN 978-1-56164-101-7.
- ^ Jerry Wilkinson. "History of Key West". Florida Keys History Museum. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ "Exploring Florida Documents: Key West: The Municipality". Florida Center for Instructional Technology. Retrieved August 29, 2012.
- ^ a b Browne, Jefferson B. (1912). "Chapter 1: General History and Random Sketches". Key West: The Old and the New. St. Augustine, FL: The Record Company Printers and Publishers. p. 7.
- ^ "Loading". Archived from the original on October 24, 2010. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
- ISBN 9781603540094. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ a b c A Chronological History of Key West A Tropical Island City, Stephen Nichols, 3rd ed.
- JSTOR 30147583.
- ^ Solomon & Erhart (1999), 336
- ^ a b c d June Keith, June Keith's Key West & The Florida Keys: A Guide to the Coral Islands (5th ed.: Palm Island Press, 2014), p. 8.
- ^ "Marker Details – Key West Historic Markers Project". Retrieved November 25, 2018.
- ^ Newton 2016, p. 64.
- ^ Gibson, A. H. (2012). American Gibraltar: Key West during World War II. The Florida Historical Quarterly, 90(4), 393–425. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23264714, pp. 396
- ^ "National Weather Service Forecast Office – WFO Key West, Florida". September 16, 2006. Archived from the original on September 16, 2006. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Solares Hill". Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "First person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage or fins". Guinness World Records. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
- ^ CNN Staff (September 1, 2013). "Diana Nyad's Cuba to Florida swim breaks one record". Cable News Network. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
{{cite web}}
:|author=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Old Island Restoration Foundation's Key West Oldest House Museum and Garden". Archived from the original on July 17, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "About the Audubon House – Audubon House & Tropical Gardens". Audubon House & Tropical Gardens. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Fort Zachary Taylor". Fortzacharytaylor.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2015. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Key West Art & Historical Society | Fort East Martello". Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Tower History". Archived from the original on March 11, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Key West Art & Historical Society | Lighthouse & Keeper's Quarters". Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Key West Museum History | Truman Little White House". Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ National Park Service (June 4, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form for Dr. Joseph Y. Porter House". Npgallery.nps.gov. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ National Park Service (April 11, 1973). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination Form for Eduardo H. Gato House". Npgallery.nps.gov. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
- ^ "Marker Details – Key West Historic Markers Project". Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ "Marker Details – Key West Historic Markers Project". Retrieved March 6, 2024.
- ^ Key West Travel Guide, LLC. "Key West Cemetery". Keywesttravelguide.com. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ Key West Travel Guide, LLC. "Key West Cemetery Map & Self-Guided Tour". Keywesttravelguide.com. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ US Army Quartermaster (1913). US Army Quartermaster Report of 1912. US War Department. p. 511. Retrieved March 23, 2018.
- ^ "Key West Resorts – Waldorf Astoria Casa Marina Hotel – FL". Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Monroe County, FL – Official Website – Higgs Beach". Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ "Key West Vacation Rentals, House Rentals | Professionally Cleaned". Archived from the original on December 2, 2008.
- ^ O'Brien, Bridget. "Southernmost Point Buoy In Key West Shines Again". Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ ProQuest 115932306.
- ^ O'Hara, Timothy. "Key West Library All Set to Turn 60". Key West Citizen.
- ^ "Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys".
- ^ a b c Klingener, Nancy (April 18, 2018). "Power Magnet: Key West's Long History Of Presidential Visits". Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ "Truman Little White House | Key West Museum History". Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ a b "Truman Little White House | Truman Key West visits". Truman Little White House. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ "Truman Little White House | Media center". Truman Little White House. Archived from the original on September 27, 2018. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ Google (January 27, 2015). "314 Simonton Street, Key West, Fl" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ISBN 978-1-56164-241-0.
- ^ "Sloppy Joe's...Yesterday". June 27, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
- ^ Google (January 27, 2015). "907 Whitehead Street, Key West, Fl" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ^ "Hemingway – The Legend". hemingwayhome.com. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
- ^ Google (January 27, 2015). "1431 Duncan Street, Key West, Fl" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ^ Google (January 27, 2015). "5901 College Road, Key West, Fl" (Map). Google Maps. Google. Retrieved January 27, 2015.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- ^ ASIN B00071OYLI.
- ^ "Koppen climate map". Archived from the original on July 6, 2011.
- ^ a b c "NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^
Gutelius, Scott; Stone, Marshall; Varner, Marcus (2003), True Secrets of Key West Revealed!, Key West: Eden Entertainment Limited, ISBN 978-0-9672819-4-0
- ^ Key West Citizen "New commissioners' trial by wind and flood" October 27, 2005
- ^ a b Key West Citizen October 25, 2005, pp 1–2, 6
- ^ Key West Citizen "Flooded cars litter the Keys" October 27, 2005
- ^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved May 9, 2021.
- ^ "WMO Climate Normals for KEY WEST/INTL, FL 1961–1990". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on August 20, 2023. Retrieved March 10, 2014.
- ^ "Key West, Florida, USA – Monthly weather forecast and Climate data". Weather Atlas. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
- ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2010: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Key West city, Florida". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "P2 HISPANIC OR LATINO, AND NOT HISPANIC OR LATINO BY RACE - 2020: DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171) - Key West city, Florida". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2020: Key West city, Florida". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ "S1101 HOUSEHOLDS AND FAMILIES - 2010: Key West city, Florida". United States Census Bureau.
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau (2014–2018). People Reporting Ancestry American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://censusreporter.org
- ^ U.S. Census Bureau (2014–2018). Hispanic or Latino Origin by Specific Origin American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Retrieved from https://censusreporter.org
- ^ "Census 2000: Households of Key West, Florida" (PDF). Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Data Center Results". Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ Windhorn, Stan & Langley, Wright Yesterday's Key West p.13
- ^ "The key to restoring conchs". Archived from the original on March 11, 2007. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
- ^ "History of Key West". Retrieved September 21, 2015.
- ^ a b "DOS EXILIOS".
- ^ "April 2003". Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved September 11, 2007.
- ^ "Key West mayor water skis to Cuba". St. Petersburg Times. September 12, 1978. p. 11B.
- ^ "Naval Air Station Key West". Naval Air Station Key West. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ "Naval Air Station Key West". Naval Air Station Key West. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
- ^ "KWHMT".
- ^ "Military History of Key West". Truman Little White House.
- ^ "United States Navy and the City of Key West, Florida (805)".
- ^ "Tender Tale – Sub Bases -> New Guinea / South West Pacific".
- ^ Enright, Tracy J. "SOFIA – Paper – Geology and Hydrogeology of the Florida Keys". Archived from the original on September 21, 2008. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
- ^ "Key West FL Newspapers & News Media – ABYZ News Links".
- ^ "Monroe County School District – School Maps". Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ^ "Sigsbee Charter School: About Us". Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ^ "Sigsbee Charter School: Registration Facts". Sigsbee Charter School. Archived from the original on June 10, 2013. Retrieved September 28, 2021.
- ^ "Key West Montessori Charter School: About Our School". Retrieved October 14, 2015.
- ^ "Florida Keys Community College". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on June 27, 2014.
Works cited
- Newton, Michael (April 14, 2016). A History of the Ku Klux Klan from 1866. ISBN 9781476617190. - Total pages: 316
Further reading
- Barnett, William C. "Inventing the Conch Republic: The Creation of Key West as an Escape from Modern America", Florida Historical Quarterly (Fall 2009) 88#2 pp. 139–172. JSTOR 20700280.
- Boulard, Garry. "'State of Emergency': Key West in the Great Depression". Florida Historical Quarterly (Oct. 1988) Vol. 67, No. 2, pp. 166–183. JSTOR 30147949.
- Levy, Philip. "'The Most Exotic of Our Cities': Race, Place, Writing, and George Allan England's Key West". Florida Historical Quarterly (Spring 2011), Vol. 89, No. 4: 469–499. JSTOR 23035914.
- Ogle, Maureen. Key West: History of an Island of Dreams (University Press of Florida, 2003). OCLC 487590196.