History of the Military in the Florida Keys
U.S.S Howard W. Gilmore docked at Key West in 1947
Missiles on the beach in Key West during the Cuban Missile Crisis-1962
More on Key West History
Every since I was a kid I can remember going to Key West and seeing forts, lighthouses, old sailboats and turtle crawls. I especially liked sea turtles and found it interesting to see where they lived, apparently unaware of everything the world had in store for them.
The U.S. acquired Florida from Spain in 1819 and by the early 1820s established the first permanent settlement of Key West. The U.S. Navy set up a base with it's Anti-Piracy Squadron since pirates had been preying on vessels legitimately salvaging shipwrecks "wrecking" along the Keys reef. The Navy stopped the pirates and wrecking became a way of life in Key West, making it the wealthiest town in Florida by the mid 1800s. Key West's Fort Zachary Taylor remained in Union hands during the Civil War (1860s) even though Florida was a Confederate state. In 1898 the harbor hosted warships headed to Cuba for the Spanish American War, helping deliver Cuban independence from Spain.
The town's prosperity waned as lighthouses and steamships diminished the wrecking trade in the late 1800s. By the early 1900s the town was restless since the once vibrant cigar industry had all but moved to Tampa due to labor unions in Key West. Events in Cuba continued to have an effect in later years with daily ferry runs to Havana until Fidel Castro came to power around 1960. Communist rule only 90 miles away formented the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis which militarized the town and the Mariel Boat Lift which brought tens of thousands of Cuban refugees into Key West.
Henry Flagler's Oversea Railroad would establish Key West as America's southern most port in 1912. The tracks never created the expected boom though it did provide a critical link to the mainland establishing the tourism industry. The railroad built the Casa Marina Hotel in 1921 and paved the way for the Overseas Highway that opened in 1938 (the railroad was destroyed in a 1935 hurricane).
Notable guests moved to town like authors Ernest Hemingway, Truman Capote and Tennessee Williams. President Harry Truman had his Winter White House in Key West after WWII and the Navy has maintained a presence to this day with a significant air base in nearby Boca Chica. In later years Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville theme continues to make Key West a popular tourist destination with great fishing, diving, parties, seafood and yes - historical sites!
To learn about the history of the Florida Keys check out our latest book The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps. To view our decorative maps visit our site or call today to place a custom order, (239)963-3497. 
Florida Keys Oversea Railway
The Over Seas Railroad
Over Seas Highway Construction-1937
Early Settlers in the Florida Keys
The Keys were not officially settled until the U.S. bought Florida from Spain in 1819. During that time there were no doubt fish camps and wrecking stations, but the Spanish never established a permanent settlement.
Many if not most the early settlers were from the Bahamas. Bahamians had been salvaging shipwrecks, known as wrecking, in the Keys for years and knew how to fish and farm the rocky land, much like their home islands. Another driving force for them was destitution. After the Revolutionary War, British Loyalists from the American colonies accepted land grants in the Bahamas in return for their loyalty to the crown. They'd left America in hopes of recreating the plantations they had in places like Virginia and Carolina, but after a generation it was clear the plan had failed. They'd fought on the losing side of the war and now were left with worthless land in the Bahamas. They emigrated in mass to the Keys where they fished, farmed and wrecked just like they'd done at home in the Bahamas but in better proximity to world markets.
There were notable settlers including Captain Temple Pent, a Bahamian who became a U.S Navy navigation pilot and ultimately an Upper Keys Representative in the Florida Territory. American fishermen and wreckers from New England started to fish the Keys after the War of 1812 and several settlements came and went on Key Vaca and other islands outside of Key West. After Indians killed a number of settlers on Indian Key in 1840, including Dr. Henry Perrine, most Keys residents scattered along the chain and fled to Key West.
Key West had by far the most settlers. John Simonton bought the island from a Spanish land grant just before the Navy arrived in 1822 to set up a base. He became partners with John Whitehead, John Fleming and Pardon Greene who all played a role in founding Key West - they left their names on the streets you see today. Wrecking created wealth in Key West and the early settlement grew around that industry and the stores and shipbuilding that were needed to run it. The town's success attracted professionals like accountants, doctors, engineers and lawyers. As Key West grew, other settlements sprouted up along the Keys chain after the Indian threat of the 1840s settled down, but it wasn't until the railroad came that Marathon and other large communities came to life.
To learn more about the history of the Florida Keys check out our latest history book, The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps. Island Map Publishing also offers decorative maps perfect for gifts or home decor! Don't see what you're looking for? Call today to discuss a custom order, 239-963-3497.
Key West had by far the most settlers. John Simonton bought the island from a Spanish land grant just before the Navy arrived in 1822 to set up a base. He became partners with John Whitehead, John Fleming and Pardon Greene who all played a role in founding Key West - they left their names on the streets you see today. Wrecking created wealth in Key West and the early settlement grew around that industry and the stores and shipbuilding that were needed to run it. The town's success attracted professionals like accountants, doctors, engineers and lawyers. As Key West grew, other settlements sprouted up along the Keys chain after the Indian threat of the 1840s settled down, but it wasn't until the railroad came that Marathon and other large communities came to life.
To learn more about the history of the Florida Keys check out our latest history book, The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps. Island Map Publishing also offers decorative maps perfect for gifts or home decor! Don't see what you're looking for? Call today to discuss a custom order, 239-963-3497. 
History of Pirates in the Florida Keys
Book Excerpt-1825 map of piracy
Antique Maps at Island Map Publishing
If you've browsed our site you might have noticed Island Map Publishing makes not only color maps but also "antique" versions of those same maps. To do this we use subtle colors chosen from a lovely, original, map from the 1600s I have.
We change the map to suit the antique look and add mermaids, fish and sea monsters from maps as far back as the 1500s. We love how the mix of colors and ancient sea creatures add a sophisticated yet artistic feel to the maps, sometimes better suited to living rooms and other spaces where brightly colored maps might clash.
Many of our maps have already been made into their "antique" version, but any which have not can be done in a reasonable amount of time by special order.
Visit our products page or call the office today at 239-963-3497 to learn more about placing a special order. Enjoy our maps, in any color!
Eleuthera Map in Color
"Antique" Version of Eleuthera Map
Shipwrecks and The Florida Keys
Shipwrecks have been a way of life in the Keys since Europeans first arrived in the New World. The long reef system rose up from the Gulfstream to catch ships off guard since the low islands of the Keys were hard to see until it was too late. In the days of sail, ships could be blown up on the reef tearing out their bottoms and sinking them in often violent seas.
Early shipwreck survivors could expect harsh treatment ashore from the Native American Indians. They were typically killed on the spot or enslaved and traded up the coast. A 13 year old Spaniard, Hernando Fontaneda, was shipwrecked in the Keys in 1549 and assimilated into the Calusa Indian tribe where he learned their language. He was rescued 20 years later in southwest Florida and in 1571 wrote about his experience, providing a rare glimpse into Florida's ancient Indian culture. By the late 1600s the Indians were Spanish allies helping them salvage their wrecks. Shipwrecks along the Keys reef plagued the Spanish and treasure fleets were lost in 1622 and 1733.
The famous galleon Atocha, salvaged by Mel Fisher in 1985, was lost in the 1622 fleet. Wrecks provided an era of prosperity in Key West which became the largest and wealthiest Florida city in the mid 1800s when ships sank on the reef almost daily, their cargos salvaged by Keys "Wreckers" and auctioned off in Key West.
The wrecking industry faded away as lighthouses were built and ships changed from sail to steam, greatly improving their ability to avoid the treacherous reef.
Many shipwrecks can still be seen today on the reef by snorkeling shallow wreck sites or scuba diving on deeper ones.
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- Atocha Galleon
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- Gold Found on Atocha
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- Keys “Wrecker”
To learn more about the Florida Keys check out our latest book The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps. Call today for questions regarding custom orders of maps and many other products, 239-963-3497!
Mapping the Gulfstream
The Florida Keys are defined by one of the world's great currents, the mighty Gulfstream. It carries warm water from the Gulf of Mexico east along the Keys reef and north along Florida and the eastern seaboard into the north Atlantic, influencing weather as far away as western Europe.
Spanish explorers learned early about the advantage of riding the Gulfstream north off the coast of America on their way back to Europe. They would take a more southerly course using the trade winds to bring them back to the New World, specifically avoiding the Gulfstream. A 1545 Spanish map by Pedro Medina shows a line of ships in a circle rotating clockwise around the Atlantic with the Gulfstream taking them northeast and the trade winds bringing them back west. It was the only way to travel in the days of sailboats and ships of many nations littering the abyss below the Gulfstream, thousands of feet deep.
Efforts to scientifically map the Gulfstream were enhanced by a famous American, Benjamin Franklin. He and his cousin Timothy Folger studied the stream and published perhaps the most accurate map of it to date in 1778. The problem with the date was that America was at war with England. Franklin didn't want the map to fall into enemy hands so it was printed only in French, allies with Franklin's fellow patriots in the Revolutionary War. If there were any copies printed in English, they've never been found.
To learn more about the history surrounding Florida and the keys, check out our latest book The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps.
1545, Medina
1778, Franklin/Folger
Mapping the Florida Keys
1794, George Gauld
1511, Peter Martyr
Native American Indian History in the Florida Keys
Native American Dugout Canoe
FL Keys Monk Seal
The original Native Americans themselves were extinct in the Keys by 1763, emigrating to Cuba as the English came into Florida. By then they'd become allies of the Spanish and helped them salvage their ship wrecks and learn to fish the waters. The "allies" part, however, only came later since Native Americans in the 1500s would typically kill or enslave any Spanish citizen or soldier unfortunate enough to be ship wrecked on the Keys reef.
After the original Native American tribes (the Calusa and Tequesta) left, there was a period of time where the Keys were uninhabited for the first time in a thousand years. Then in the 1800s another tribe arrived, the Seminole Indians who were being displaced by American settlers moving into Florida from the north. This tribe had a rocky start with early Keys settlers as the U.S. Army hunted them there and in the swamps of the Everglades where they hid. In 1840s the Seminoles staged a successful attack on Indian Key killing several of the inhabitants. The threat of Native American Indian attack was so great the remaining farmers and fisherman throughout the Keys fled to Key West until the conflict was settled. Today there are still Seminoles in the Keys, but they're friendly and come by truck or car from other parts of Florida to fish and enjoy the beautiful waters.
If you're interested in learning more about the Florida Keys, check out our book The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps. Island Map Store also publishes decorative maps of the Caribbean, Florida and almost all coastal U.S. regions! If you have any questions or would like to place a custom order visit our site or call 239-963-3497, we're happy to help!