Indians, Spanish Conquistadors, Pirates, Bahamians, Cubans, American Southerners and Northerners are all part of Key West history, a small island three miles by five at the end of the Florida Keys, the southernmost city in the domestic US.

The island was discovered by Spanish explorers in the 16th century, first sighted by Ponce de Leon. The Spanish cavalry officer Juan Pablo Salas was its first owner who sold it in 1821 to John Simonton, a merchant from Mobile, AL. In 1823 Commodore David Porter rid the area of pirates by using shallow draft barges to pursue the brethren of the coast into shallow waters of the Keys. In 1823 the first Key West Naval Base was established and Key West was incorporated as a city in 1828.

Bahamian fisherman and spongers brought their art of the Keys after 1828 and by 1850 over $750,000 sponges were being sold annually from a 180 vessel fleet. Wrecking prospered until lighthouses were placed on the reefs. Cuban cigar makers, fleeing the Spanish in their war for independence began to come over in 1868. Over 100 million cigars were produced in Key West in 1890. During the Civil War Key West was the only port held by the Northerners although many Southern sympathizers were present. Key West then grew to the richest per capita city in Florida when Miami was only a little river town with resident alligators.

In 1904 Henry Flagler began building the Overseas Railroad that was completed in1912. During World War I Key West was a major Naval Base but its economic progress began to fade thereafter and by the 1930’s the city was a ward of FERA, which imported writers and economic experts, who pointed to a tourist future for the island. In 1937 an RFC loan was obtained and highway bridges were built over the water gap linking Key West to the mainland. Flagler had spent $49 million – the bridges cost another $4.2 million.

During World War II the highway was further improved and a fresh water pipeline was built from the mainland. Kay West became a major anti-submarine and training base and is now a naval air training base. The city and the Keys have had unprecedented growth since then with income derived from tourism, the Naval installation and fishing.