While the State of Florida joined the Confederacy, Key West remained a Union territory because of the island’s strong Naval presence. Leading up to the Civil War from 1845-1866, Fort Zachary Taylor was constructed as a Naval fort at the southern edge of Old Town Key West.
Today, you can still scale to the top for a bird’s-eye-view of the island and visit the lighthouse keeper’s quarters. In 1847, the Key West Lighthouse was built on Whitehead Street to mark the island’s shoreline. Thanks to the shallow reefs just offshore Old Town and the expansive territory of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, industries like wrecking, salvaging, salt manufacturing and turtling made Key West the richest city in the United States per capita during the mid-1800s. Three notable leaders, James Monroe, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson, appointed him. Old Town’s main thoroughfare, Duval Street, was named after Florida’s first territorial governor, William Pope Duval, who held office from 1822-1834. Perry sailed the schooner Shark to the island and planted the US flag in the ground. The Florida Keys and Key West officially become part of the United States on Maafter Lt. Key West Becomes Part of the United States It was only later that it became known as “Key West,” which sounded like Cayo Hueso to the English-speaking settlers that later appropriated the Spanish territory. He named the island Cayo Hueso, which means Bone Island in Spanish, for the bleached limestone rock formation of the island. Ponce de Leon first discovered Key West in 1521 during his expedition to Florida in search of the Fountain of Youth. Old Town is the most historical part of the island and it’s also where most of the island’s attractions are found today. With its unique location 150 miles south of mainland Florida and at the end of the Florida Keys, Key West has a fascinating history that dates back to the Age of Exploration.
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