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HISTORY

History of Monroe Co.

   In the 1820s and 1830s, there was no more profitable business than that conducted by the proprietors of wrecking vessels of southern Florida, and Key West was its grand center. Fielding A. Browne and Whitehead were both victims of shipwrecks in the Bahamas and Key West. The Hon. Peter T. Knight and Hon. George W. Reynolds owe their residence in Key West to their mothers being shipwreck on the way from Germany to the port of New Orleans. 

 

  March 25, 1822, Lieut. M. C. Perry, commander of the U.S. Schooner Shark, hoisted the flag of his nation at Key West. A regularly constituted naval depot and station established under command of Commodore David Porter, who was one of the most enthusiastic advocates of developing Thompson's Island into a grea fortified naval base to guard the Gulf of Mexico and the mouth of the Mississippi River. Commodore Porter with his mosquito fleet and an old New York steam ferry boat were responsible for suppressing the Spanish pirates.

 

  Monroe County was created in 1823. It was named for James Monroe, the fifth President of the United States, who served from 1817 to 1825. [Source: wikipedia.org]

 

  On the 29th of December, 1824, the Legislative Council created six counties--Alachua, Leon, Nassau, Walton, Mosquito and Monroe.

 

  In 1831, The first cigar factory in the United States established by William H. Hall

 

  In 1832, Key West was incorporated as a city and, under the new charter, Colonel Oliver O'Hara was elected as its first mayor.

 

  On February 4, 1836, Dade County was carved from Monroe County's great area.

 

  In 1855, Manatee County was created from a portion of the mainland of Monroe County.

 

  In 1869, Cuban migration to Key West begins.

 

  In 1861, The East and West Martello Towers are constructed as additional fortifications.

 

  In 1886, a fire destroyed a large part of the city of Key West.

 

  In 1887, Lee County was created reducing Monroe County to its present form and area[1923].

 

  In 1912, The Overseas Railway was completed.

 

  In 1926, The Overseas Highway and Ferry System are completed. [See Historical Bridges]

 

  In 1939, The Federal Government reestablished U. S. Naval Station and Submarine Base.

 

  In 1940, U. S. Naval Air Station Is opened at Trumbo Island.
 

~History Sources & Links~

Monroe Co. [dot] gov.
wikipedia, the online encyclopedia
History & Chronology, etc. by CyberConch
Penny Postcards
Migrations.org
Cigars-Review/history
Historic Bridges of the United States
Painting by David Harrison Wright

 

Early Settlers - The Blue Parrott Inn built by Walter C. Mahoney  

Historical Resources:

Dry Tortuga Islands
Florida Keys
Islamorada
Key Largo
Vicinity of Key Largo
Key West
Vicinity of Key West
Vicinity of Lower Matecumbe Key
Marathon
Pigeon Key
Vicinity of Plantation Key
Sugarloaf Key

Mel Fisher Martime Museum  

Martello Towers

Martello towers (or simply Martellos) are small defensive forts built in several countries of the British Empire during the 19th century, from the time of the Napoleonic Wars onwards.

They stand up to 40 feet (12m) high (with two floors) and typically had a garrison of one officer and 15-25 men. Their round structure and thick walls of solid masonry made them resistant to cannon fire, while their height made them an ideal platform for a single heavy artillery piece, mounted on the flat roof and able to traverse a 360° arc. A few towers had moats for extra defence. The Martello towers were used during the first half of the 19th century, but became obsolete with the introduction of powerful rifled artillery. Many have survived to the present day, often preserved as historic monuments.
 
United States

The United States government built several Martello towers at locations along the eastern seaboard. Two are at Key West, Florida ; others were built at the harbours of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Charleston, South Carolina and New York City. Two more Martello towers stood at Tybee Island, Georgia and Bayou Dupre, Louisiana.

Although the Americans copied the design from the towers the British erected in Canada, the American Martello towers differed in some significant respects from the British. The Martello tower built at Tybee Island, Georgia was constructed around 1815 utilising wood and tabby, a common local building material at the time, instead of the brick or stone that the British towers used. Also unlike the British towers, the Tybee tower featured gun loops on the garrison floor that enabled muskets to be fired through the walls. It was never tested in battle and by the time of the American Civil War was in a state of disrepair. Its unfamiliar design confused local writers, who often said that the Spanish had built the tower when Georgia was Spain's colony. The Key West martellos were square instead of round and had thin walls with long gun loops. In addition, the Key West Martellos were encircled by a curtain wall of heavy guns, making them, effectively, keeps instead of standalone towers.

A Martello tower figures in the arms of the 41st Infantry Regiment of the United States Army

Martello Tower in Portsmouth, NH

Ruined Martello tower at Portsmouth, New Hampshire in late 19th Century.

 

 

 

from Wikipedea

 

Straits of Florida

The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, Florida Strait, or Strait of Havami is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys and Cuba. The strait carries the Florida Current, the beginning of the Gulf Stream, from the Gulf of Mexico.

Rights to oil and natural gas in the Florida Straits were divided between the United States and Cuba by a 1977 treaty. Some allege that Cuba is actively leasing tracts in its sector for exploration while the United States is not due to environmental and tourist concerns.
hey also allege that geological studies project substantial reserves. However, these allegations are unsupported and doubtful because most of the Strait is off the continental shelves of both the U.S. and Cuba; and the geology of the two sides of the strait are dissimilar.

Source: wikipedia, The online dictionary

 

 

Keys History