Florida Keys History – January

Railroad Arrives on Key West

On January 22, 1912, the nearly twenty thousand residents of the city of Key West, Florida, located on a small island some 128 miles south of the Florida peninsula, observed the completion of an overseas rail connection to the mainland. The Florida East Coast Railway served the island until 1935, when it was destroyed by a hurricane. It was replaced in 1938 by the Overseas Highway, built on the foundation of the old railroad bed. This system of forty-two bridges, which connects the Florida Keys to the mainland, is one of the longest over-water roads in the world.

Henry Flagler arrived in his private car, “Moultrie.” The Overseas Extension of the Florida East Coast system spanned 127.84 miles from Homestead to Key West. Seventy-five miles were over marsh or water. The longest viaduct of the system, between Knights Key and Bahia Honda Key, covered seven miles. Building the extension from Miami to key West required a labor force of 3-4,000 men and seven years of work. The railroad extension was abandoned after the destructive hurricane of 1935, but was eventually adapted for use as a major highway.

This photo show most of the Key West residents who turned out for this historic event. Click on it to get a better view.

FKEC Born

Born partly of dreams, necessity and visionary genius, the Florida Keys Electric Cooperative Association, Inc. (FKECA) was certified by the Florida Secretary of State on January 22, 1940 with an office address of the “Marathon Grocery, Marathon, Florida.” It had its first board meeting four days later and John A. Russell of Islamorada was elected chairperson.

First Big Pine Key Land Deed

The first patented land deed was issued January 25, 1882 to William F. Wood. Most folks were homesteaders or squatters. It was first surveyed for the State of Florida on March 21, 1873. Homesteading was allowed all the way up to the late 1920′s. Florida became a state in 1845. Land was given for selling to residents, for building railroads, and homesteading. The state collected just over $2,000 from the sell of the land on Big Pine Key. Today the same land is worth more than one billion dollars.

Key West Incorporated