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History of Key West, Florida:
In Pre-Columbian Times Key West Was Inhabited By The Calusa People. The First European To Visit Was Ponce De Leon In 1521. As Florida Became A Spanish Colony, A Fishing And Salvage Village With A Small Garrison Was Established Here.
The Name "Key West" Is Derived From A "false Friend" Anglicization Of The Spanish Language Name Of The Island, Cayo Hueso, Meaning "Bone Island".
In 1763 When Great Britain Took Control Of Florida, The Community Of Spaniards And Native Americans Were Moved To Havana.
Florida Returned To Spanish Control 20 Years Later, But There Was No Official Resettlement Of The Island. Informally The Island Was Used By Fishermen From Cuba And From The British Bahamas, Who Were Later Joined By Others From The United States After The Latter Nation's Independence. While Claimed By Spain, No Nation Exercised De Facto Control Over The Community There For Some Time.
In 1815 The Spanish Governor In Havana Deeded The Island Of Key West To Juan Pablo Salas Of Saint Augustine, Florida. After Florida Was Transferred To The United States, Salas Sold The Island To US Businessman John Simonton For $2,000 In 1821. Simonton Divided The Island Into Plots And Sold Some Of Them. There Was Already A Town On A Part Of The Island, With The Inhabitants Recognizing The Authority Of No Nation. Simonton Lobbied The U.S. Government To Establish A Naval Base On The Island, Both To Take Advantage Of The Island's Strategic Location And To Bring Law And Order To The Town. In 1823 Commodore David Porter Of The United States Navy West Indies Anti-Pirate Squadron Took Charge Of Key West, Which He Ruled (but, According To Some, Exceeding His Authority) As Military Dictator Under Martial Law.
Major Industries In Key West In The Early 19th Century Included Fishing, Salt Production, And Most Famously Salvage. A Number Of The Inhabitants Worked Salvaging Shipwrecks From Nearby Florida Reefs, And The Town Was Noted For The Unusually High Concentration Of Fine Furniture And Chandeliers Which The Locals Used In Their Own Homes After Salvaging Them From Wrecks.
During The American Civil War, While Florida Joined The Confederate States Of America, Key West Remained In US Hands Thanks To The Naval Base.
Buoy At The Southernmost Point In The Continental United StatesIn The Late 19th Century Salt And Salvage Declined As Industries, But Key West Gained A Thriving Cigar Making Industry.
Many Cubans Moved To Key West During Cuba's Unsuccessful War For Independence In The 1860s And 1870s.
Key West Was The Last Of The Series Of Keys Connected To The Florida Mainland By A Series Of Railroad Bridges Completed In 1912, As The Overseas Railway Extension Of Henry M. Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway. The Labor Day Hurricane Of 1935 Destroyed Many Of The Railroad Bridges, And Drowned Hundreds Of Flagler's Workers. The United States Federal Government Then Rebuilt The Rail Lines As An Automobile Highway, Completed In 1938, Which Became An Extension Of United States Highway 1. The Portion Of US 1 Through The Keys Is Called The Overseas Highway. Because Key West Can Be Accessed By Land, The Southern Point Of The Island Is Marked As The Southernmost Point Of Land On The United States Mainland.
Ernest Hemingway Lived In Key West For Many Years, And Graces The Front Of Sloppy Joe's Bar T-shirts.
In The 1980s Key West, And The Rest Of The Florida Keys, Briefly Declared Its "independence" As A Protest Over A United States Border Patrol Blockade. This Blockade Was Setup On U.S.1 Where The Northern End Of The Overseas Highway Meets The Mainland At Florida City. This Blockade Was In Response To The Mariel Cuban Boatlift. Flags, T-shirts And Other Merchandise Representing The Conch Republic Are Still Popular Souvenirs For Visitors To Key West.
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