Little Palm Island Resort & Spa is a piece of paradise discreetly located off the fabled Florida Keys coastline so remote it’s only accessible by sea-plane or boat. A best-kept secret for US presidents and celebrities, your escape is simply waiting to drink you in. No phones, no TVs and no shortage of fun and romance. … Read more
For the first time in its history, Zane Grey’s West Society is having its 34th annual conference east of the Mississippi, and it has chosen Islamorada as one of its host sites. A few of the events set for June 20 to 23 in Islamorada are open to the public, and new members are welcome … Read more
One word keeps coming up, over and over again, when people talk about Harriette’s Restaurant in Key Largo: Family. And it’s not just owner Harriette Mattson, whose breakfast-and-lunch restaurant at mile marker 95.7, celebrated 34 years on May 17. It’s the staff and the customers, too. Pat Baker, who has been at Harriette’s since the … Read more
The 6 Florida Keys Lighthouses are among the 11 “most endangered” historic sites in the state this year, says a statewide preservation group. This week, the nonprofit Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, meeting for its annual conference in Tallahassee, released its list of 2016’s most threatened historic resources. The lighthouses are on the list. Here’s what … Read more
The first mention of Conch Key and its baby sister island to the southwest, Little Conch Key, can be dated back to the mid-19th century, according to local historian Jerry Wilkinson. The two islands were first documented in the 1849 memoir of F.W. Gerdes, “Reconnaissance of the Florida Reefs and All the Keys.” “The first … Read more
The presence of the US Navy in Key West dates back to 1822, when Lt. Commander Matthew C. Perry sailed the Navy schooner Shark into Key West Harbor and claimed the island for the United States. Only about 100 people lived here at that time. Although Florida had become a US territory a year earlier, … Read more
1855: Northwest Channel Lighthouse was first lighted. This lighthouse was located eight miles (13 km) from Key West, Florida, at the entrance to the northwest channel to the Key West harbor. The first light was a lightship put on station in 1838. It is not known if the lightship survived the Great Havana Hurricane of 1846, which destroyed … Read more
The Middle Florida Keys are an often overlooked destination. Lying between the Upper Florida Keys where you will find the Diving & Fishing Capitals of Key Largo and Islamorada and the Lower Florida Keys with Big Pine Key’s Key Deer and world famous Key West, the Middle Florida Keys is sometimes referred to as the Heart … Read more
Sorry, this Florida Keys island, Indian Key, isn’t for sale. But you can visit and explore this historic site. Hours: The park is open from 8:00 a.m. until sundown, 365 days a year. Fees: Admission Fee: $2.50 *per person. *Includes $.50 per person Monroe County Surcharge. Early Indian Key History Beginning in the 18th century, Bahamians and Cubans … Read more
Key West lighthouse was decommissioned back in 1969. But it recently got a thorough restoration, from the railings around the top to the paint on the sides. From left, project manager Johnnie Yongue, architect David Salay and project manager Daniel Bensley check out the newly restored Key West Lighthouse, which recently re-opened to the public. CREDIT … Read more
The history of Lignumvitae Key dates back in time when the islands of the Florida Keys were a living coral reef. Sea level has fluctuated over time and has been as much as 300 feet lower than today and as much as 60 to 100 feet higher than today, drastically changing the footprint of the … Read more
A sort of mini Alcatraz off the coast of Florida once held one of America’s most famous prisoners. The Dry Tortugas, a small group of islands about 70 miles off the coast of Key West, Fla., were purchased by the United States from Spain in the early 1800s. The area is one of the smallest … Read more
About 80 descendants of Dr. Samuel A. Mudd marked Friday’s 150th anniversary of Mudd’s July 24, 1865, arrival at an isolated Gulf of Mexico fort. Source: Family of Doctor Who Treated Lincoln Assassin Visit Prison
A stately edifice on Key West’s Duval Street with high arches, a wide wrought-iron balcony, and large windows shaded by wooden louvers, the building that houses the San Carlos Institute is the property of the Cuban Government, a situation that has remained unchanged since long before the revolution of the 1950s. Founded by Cuban exiles … Read more
The Fowey Rocks Lighthouse in Biscayne National Park has been listed by the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation as one of the 11 most endangered historic sites in the state. The Fowey Rocks Lighthouse is included along with five other reef lighthouses in the Florida Keys. “A lighthouse that has kept mariners and their ships … Read more
In the early years of the 19th Century, piracy was still a problem in the West Indies, an area that not only included the islands of the Caribbean, but the waters surrounding the Florida peninsula. Rear Admiral Casper F. Goodrich studied the evidence of piratical activity in 1818 and published his findings in the U.S. Navy … Read more
The first survey of the Florida Reef was performed by naturalist Louis Agassiz aboard the Coast Survey Schooner Petrel. Lieutenant James Totten of the U.S. Army accompanied the Coast Survey team when the initial study of the Florida Reef system was made in 1852. Lighthouses of the Florida Reef is being presented in partnership with … Read more
At about the same time the dubious wrecker John Jacob Housman first made his way to the Florida Territory, another questionable captain was sailing this way, too. His name was Joshua Appelby, born Dec. 5, 1770 in Newport, Rhode Island. Like Captain Housman, he arrived in the Florida Territory circa 1822. As a point of comparison, … Read more
BY JOSH GORE Free Press Staff A group of federal maritime archaeologists are trying to uncover more details of a sunken slave ship near Delta Shoals off Sombrero Reef. Locals name the area The Ivory Wreck, which is located a few hundred yards away from the lighthouse. The name stems from ivory tusks discovered … Read more
The view out across the Atlantic from Jerry Wilkinson’s house is the stuff of dreams. Between the mix of sky and ocean exists differing shades of blue for as far as the eye can see, while inside the house exists of bit of historical chaos. Walls are lined with books and old cameras, glass bottles and books … Read more