Town history

Key West history

Wreckers, cigars, Hemingway, a president's winter home and the Conch Republic.

Timeline

1822 — U.S. port of entry. John Simonton buys the island; Lt. Matthew Perry claims it for the U.S., and Key West becomes an official port of entry.
1828 — Wrecking boom. Key West is incorporated and gets a salvage court; shipwreck salvage makes it the wealthiest U.S. city per capita.
1861 — Union loyal. Florida secedes, but Key West stays with the Union through the Civil War.
1886 — The Great Fire. A fire that starts beside the San Carlos Institute burns 12 hours across 50 acres of the commercial district.
1912 — The railroad arrives. Henry Flagler's Over-Sea Railroad is completed; the first train reaches Key West on Jan. 22, linking the Keys to the mainland until the 1935 hurricane.
1927 — Pan Am is born. Pan American Airways is founded in Key West, flying mail and then passengers to Havana.
1928–1939 — Hemingway years. Ernest Hemingway first visits in 1928 and lives in his Whitehead Street house until late 1939.
1945–1953 — Truman's Little White House. President Truman spends 11 working vacations — nearly six months — at the Little White House.
1982 — The Conch Republic. Protesting a Border Patrol roadblock at the head of the Keys, the island chain stages a tongue-in-cheek "secession" from the United States.
1985 — Atocha treasure. Mel Fisher's crew finds the 1622 Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha off Key West after a 16-year search.

Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum · 907 Whitehead St, Key West
Check the site for hours and admission.
Hours & admission Directions
Truman Little White House · 111 Front St, Key West
Florida's only presidential museum; guided tours.
Hours & admission Directions
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum · 200 Greene St, Key West
Atocha treasure and shipwreck artifacts.
Hours & admission Directions
Key West Lighthouse & Keeper's Quarters · 938 Whitehead St, Key West
Run by the Key West Art & Historical Society.
Hours & admission Directions