History of Key West
Brief settlements by transient Seminoles in the late 18th century introduced temporary trade in the Florida Keys; early fishing and wrecking revenues became notable amongst passing Natives in the region.
[6] Legal claim of the island occurred with the purchase by businessman, John W. Simonton, in 1822, in which federal property was asserted only three months later with the arrival of U.S. Navy Lieutenant Mathew C. Perry.
[7] Shortly after Florida's secession from the United States, Union soldiers seized Fort Zachary, securing their position in Key West as a stronghold for the duration of the war.
During this period of geological formation, Key West's foundation was composed of compacted oolite deposits of calcium carbonate laying above Miami Colite limestone.
It is relatively agreed amongst historians that the dominant inhabitants of the Florida Keys were the Calusa, however, the discovery of pottery fragments later indicated the presence of Tequesta and possibly evidence for Caribbean Island Natives.
[18] Primarily hunter-gatherers, the island's abundant source of fish, turtle, lobster, shellfish, and manatees provided native settlers with copious staple foods and even the installation of temporary trade outposts by later Seminoles.
However, Key West was considered to be of little value to the Spanish Empire, and with the exchange of Florida control from Spain to the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1763, the island fell under English possession.
[24] In 1766, Major General and East Florida governor, James Grant, proposed the idea of establishing a military base on Key West in order to further regulate any activity in its surrounding waters.
Grant often urged that a post or settlement on Key West would be ideally situated for trade with Havana and have a strategic advantage point in the case of a war with Cuba, however, nothing came of his plea.
During the early 19th century, with neither Spain nor Britain maintaining effective authority over Key West, residents of Havana continued to issue fishing licenses to vessels in the British territory.
[35] Intrigued by the island's deep water ports and access to wide shipping lanes,[36] Simonton conducted the purchase with Salas while meeting in Havana following Spain's formal cession of Florida to the United States in 1821.
[37] Eager to sell the island, Salas had initially sold Key West for a total of $575 to a former governor of South Carolina, General John Geddes, who was unable to secure the rights before Simonton, assisted by influential friends from Washington D.C., asserted legal claim in January, 1822.
[38] On March 25, 1822, Lt. Mathew C. Perry commandeered the USS Shark, a schooner armed with 12 guns, sailed into Key West, and formally claimed the island as de facto property of the United States.
[40] With a large portion of wealthy merchant fleets operating through the island's ports, the waters of Key West became a significant point of interest for pirates to prey on shipping lanes.
[47] Three years later, the Cuban Hurricane of 1844 passed east of Key West, but caused extensive damage to property and ships, with almost ten inches of rain recorded on October 5.
[49] Prior to the Civil War, increasing concerns of a conflict with the South prompted government officials to organize a seizure of Fort Taylor from Florida's possession.
[55] The island's subsequent rise in Cigar manufacturing and relocation of factories from Cuba were largely destroyed in Key West's devastating fire of April 1, 1886,[56] resulting in the death of seven citizens and $1.5 Million in property damage across 50 acres of land.
A funeral was performed by Captain Bowman H. McCalla of the USS Marblehead and a statue memorial was erected in 1898 by the Encampment Union Veterans Legion, Washington D.C.[58] With the turn of the century came Key West's rapid growth following the extension of Henry M. Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway (FEC), connecting Key West with the Florida mainland via the newly constructed Overseas Railway.
On December 18, 1917, the establishment of Key West's Naval Air Station was commissioned with U.S. Coast Guard Lieutenant Stanley Parker as commanding officer.
Thomas Edison resided in a home on the base in Key West for 6 months while perfecting 41 weapons for the US war effort and developing underwater ordinance for the Navy.
[68] With the onset of World War II, more than 14,000 ships were brought into the island's harbor; an almost doubling population occurred with arrival soldiers, sailors, laborers, and tourists.
[69] German U-boat operations occurred so close to Key West throughout the 1940s that locals often reported witnessing the burning wreckage of allied cargo and military freighters from the island's shore.
[70] "Meachum Field "(located in what is now known as Key West International Airport) was constructed as an additional satellite facility in 1940 to support blimps running anti-submarine patrols.
[71] Following the end of the World War II, operations at Submarine Squadron 4 were transferred from Pearl Harbor to Key West in August 1945 as part of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
[73] As relations between the U.S. and the Soviet Union deteriorated with the beginning of the Cold War, President Harry S. Truman made 11 trips to Key West to organize military defense plans while staying at the Little White House.
The agreement gave the Navy, Army, and Air Force in increase of control over their aviation assets for reconnaissance, medical evacuation, and other tactical functions for the island's defense.
President Truman's most iconic items still remain on his desk in the museum today, including his briefcase, books, telephone, and the famous "The Buck Stops Here" sign.
The runway complex at Key West International Airport was temporarily inundated by six inches of seawater on the Atlantic coast of the island and sustained the highest recorded wind speeds of a 2-minute average of 71 mph (114 km/h).
Sea turtles in the island's waters were captured using small enclosures used as traps made from wooden or concrete pillars situated near Key West's harbors where they could be quickly processed in nearby canning buildings.
[93] As a result of the newly formed wrecking industry, the Pensacola Gazette reported in 1826 that gross duties paid on goods landed in Key West increased from $389 in 1823 to $14,108 in 1824.
