Immediately northwest is Key Haven (official name Raccoon Key), from which it is connected by causeway with US 1 (the Overseas Highway).

Stock Island was supposedly named for herds of livestock formerly kept there.

[2] Alternatively, some local historians suggest that it may be named for an early settler.

The northern side of stock island is home to the Key West Golf Course, Monroe County Detention Center, and the main campus of Florida Keys Community College.

It was the former home of the Islander Drive-In Theater, which was popularized by Jimmy Buffett's hit song "Grapefruit-Juicy Fruit".