Then, there are the lesser-known ruins of the Keys. Original wooden buildings dot the 5-acre island, which can be reached by ferry. The ever-iconic Pigeon Key, an aerial shot of which graces nearly every tourist brochure, is an historic railroad work camp along the Seven Mile Bridge. With pristine reefs and unusual birds, it is an excellent place to spend the day, or even camp for a few. It is contained in one of the least-visited national parks, Dry Tortugas. Two famous abandonments steal most of the headlines, so we’ll get the need to mention those out of the way now: Civil War-era Fort Jefferson, which lies 70 miles west of Key West, is the largest masonry structure in the Americas. Hurricanes reclaimed some of those as well. Workers set up camps from which to build lighthouses and a railroad. Hurricanes reclaimed more than a few of those. Pirates stalked Spanish treasure fleets, British warships pursued illegal slave ships, and wreckers waited for all of their misfortunes along the shallow reefs.Īll the while, farmers, fishermen and outcasts claimed keys for themselves, setting up homesteads and villages.
Soon after, legions of ships departing the New World would catch the trade winds along the Florida Straits. Spanish explorer and conquistador Ponce de León became the first European to lay eyes on them in 1513. Humans may have called them home since at least the height of Greek civilization, some 3,600 years ago.
With more than 1,700 islands, it is not surprising that today’s Keys have ample abandoned history to explore. On a few of the Florida Keys, some of these tales are actually true. The grandest of adventures are born on isolated islands.įrom pirate gold to giant apes, the mystery of what might be found on a speck of land peeking up through a vast sea has captivated imaginations for millennia. Last updated on August 28th, 2021 at 05:19 pm
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