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You'll also find what to do and see in the Florida Keys, restaurants and bars in the Florida Keys, Florida Keys weather, parks and beaches in the Florida Keys and more Florida Keys info.
rentals directly from this website. On this Florida Keys website you'll find an extensive list of Florida Keys vacation rentals and management companies for Florida Keys vacation rentals.
You'll also find what to do and see in the Florida Keys, restaurants and bars in the Florida Keys, Florida Keys weather, parks and beaches in the Florida Keys and more Florida Keys info.
The Keys were discovered for the Western world by Ponce de Leon's expedition in 1513 and were named
Los Martires the martyrs, because of their twisted, torturous strips of land. They were inhabited only by
Native Americans and opportunistic pirates such as Gasparilla and Black Caesar, who preyed on the off
shore shipping trade for more than three centuries. The first Western settlement in the Keys was Cayo
Hueso, the Isle of Bones, so named because the land bore the remains of a vast Indian graveyard or
battleground. The name later evolved into Key West. Cayo Hueso belonged to the Spanish until 1821,
when Juan Pablo Salas sold it to John Simonton, a businessman from Mobile, Alabama, for $2,000. The
city was founded in 1822, and by the 1850s grew to about 2,700 people. Most came from New England and
the Bahamas to work as "wreckers"; salvaging millions of dollars of cargo from ships that ran afoul of the
reefs. In time, Key West became one of the richest cities in America.Cuban immigrants, including Vincente
Martinez Ybor, built a substantial cigar making industry in the mid-1800s, with more than 165 factories at
one time. But the manufacturers later moved most of the business to Tampa. The sponge industry,
imported by Bahamian wrecker William Kemp, once grossed $750,000 a year. It thrived until Greek divers
shifted the focus to Tarpon Springs in 1904 and basically disappeared by the 1930s.
The remainder of the Keys were essentially uninhabited until the last quarter of the 19th Century, when
hardy Methodist settlers began to carve out homesteads. They braved the swarming mosquitoes, built
homes from driftwood and shipwreck cast offs, and began to grow pineapples, coconuts, key limes, and
other tropical crops that were then shipped to Key West as well as northern ports. The next major stage in
the Keys' development came in 1905, when railroad magnate Henry Flagler vowed to extend his Florida
East Coast Railway south from Miami to the excellent deep water port at Key West. Seven years later, in
1912, the first train steamed along the entire length of "Flagler's Folly" proving to the skeptics that it could,
in fact, be built. Flagler, his goal achieved, died a few months later. No one said the railroad would last
forever, however. On September 2, 1935, a fierce hurricane packing 200 mile per hour winds pushed an
18-foot tidal wave across the Upper Keys, washing out the tracks and killing more than 800 people. The
only thing still standing was an angel that had marked a grave in an Islamorada cemetery. The financially
shaky railroad was never rebuilt. Within three years, however, the railroad right of way was back in
business in a new form, the Overseas Highway. Travelers once again had an overland route from Key
West to Miami. Since that time, economic and commercial development have been inspired by such
factors as the Armed Forces' use of Key West as a base during World War II, the advent of the commercial
shrimp industry, and the growing popularity of the Keys in general and Key West, in particular as a haven
for writers, artists, and countless other creative types. Today, much of the Florida Keys maintains an old
world feeling. You'll find its evidence in several excellent museums and parks, and its ambiance around
many corners in Old Town Key West and elsewhere.
Los Martires the martyrs, because of their twisted, torturous strips of land. They were inhabited only by
Native Americans and opportunistic pirates such as Gasparilla and Black Caesar, who preyed on the off
shore shipping trade for more than three centuries. The first Western settlement in the Keys was Cayo
Hueso, the Isle of Bones, so named because the land bore the remains of a vast Indian graveyard or
battleground. The name later evolved into Key West. Cayo Hueso belonged to the Spanish until 1821,
when Juan Pablo Salas sold it to John Simonton, a businessman from Mobile, Alabama, for $2,000. The
city was founded in 1822, and by the 1850s grew to about 2,700 people. Most came from New England and
the Bahamas to work as "wreckers"; salvaging millions of dollars of cargo from ships that ran afoul of the
reefs. In time, Key West became one of the richest cities in America.Cuban immigrants, including Vincente
Martinez Ybor, built a substantial cigar making industry in the mid-1800s, with more than 165 factories at
one time. But the manufacturers later moved most of the business to Tampa. The sponge industry,
imported by Bahamian wrecker William Kemp, once grossed $750,000 a year. It thrived until Greek divers
shifted the focus to Tarpon Springs in 1904 and basically disappeared by the 1930s.
The remainder of the Keys were essentially uninhabited until the last quarter of the 19th Century, when
hardy Methodist settlers began to carve out homesteads. They braved the swarming mosquitoes, built
homes from driftwood and shipwreck cast offs, and began to grow pineapples, coconuts, key limes, and
other tropical crops that were then shipped to Key West as well as northern ports. The next major stage in
the Keys' development came in 1905, when railroad magnate Henry Flagler vowed to extend his Florida
East Coast Railway south from Miami to the excellent deep water port at Key West. Seven years later, in
1912, the first train steamed along the entire length of "Flagler's Folly" proving to the skeptics that it could,
in fact, be built. Flagler, his goal achieved, died a few months later. No one said the railroad would last
forever, however. On September 2, 1935, a fierce hurricane packing 200 mile per hour winds pushed an
18-foot tidal wave across the Upper Keys, washing out the tracks and killing more than 800 people. The
only thing still standing was an angel that had marked a grave in an Islamorada cemetery. The financially
shaky railroad was never rebuilt. Within three years, however, the railroad right of way was back in
business in a new form, the Overseas Highway. Travelers once again had an overland route from Key
West to Miami. Since that time, economic and commercial development have been inspired by such
factors as the Armed Forces' use of Key West as a base during World War II, the advent of the commercial
shrimp industry, and the growing popularity of the Keys in general and Key West, in particular as a haven
for writers, artists, and countless other creative types. Today, much of the Florida Keys maintains an old
world feeling. You'll find its evidence in several excellent museums and parks, and its ambiance around
many corners in Old Town Key West and elsewhere.
| Vacation Rentals by Owner Management Companies for Vacation Rentals What To Do & See Restaurants & Bars |
| Vacation Rentals by Owner Management Companies for Vacation Rentals What To Do & See Restaurants & Bars |
Upper Florida Keys
| Vacation Rentals by Owner Management Companies for Vacation Rentals What To Do & See Restaurants & Bars |
Middle Florida Keys
Lower Florida Keys & Key West
More Florida Keys Information
| Annual Florida Keys Events What To Do & See Florida Keys Wildlife Florida Keys History Parks & Beaches Florida Keys Weather |
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Florida Keys Vacation Rentals by Owner and by Property Management Companies.
flkeys-vacationrentals.com - Specializing in vacation rentals by owner, homes, condos, cabins, villas
and apartments and also privately owned properties offered through rental agencies and management
companies.
To report any problems with this site, please email us at comments@flkeys-vacationrentals.com
Use of this website constitutes acceptance of our Terms and Conditions.