Key West- December 22, 2016

Sailed into Key West this morning amid cloudy and rainy weather.  We are docked at the Navy Mole Pier. Since this is at least our 6^th visit to Key West we are staying aboard and reading. 

Charles Ingrao

This cruise line has a connection with  The Smithsonian so all the lectures will be given by  Charles Ingrao, a Smithsonian Journey Expert. History is his expertise. Today he is presenting a talk  entitled “How Columbus Was Flat Wrong.”

Antonio Herrera

Inhabited by the fierce Calusa Indians, the Florida Keys was first sighted and chronicled for the western world by Antonio de Herrera  in May of 1513. He along with fellow explorer Ponce DeLeon was searching for The Fountain of Youth. This area became the bastion of fishermen, but also of treasure-stashing pirates, who were eventually chased away by the US Navy, having established their pirate fleet in Key West in 1822.

The US took possession of Florida in the early 1800’s and settlers soon filtered in to this southernmost  city from the mainland and the Bahamas.

Key West soon became the wealthiest city in the Republic from a thriving shark factory, pineapple plantations and wrecking businesses, which salvaged goods from ships that sunk around the treacherous coral reefs nearby. In 1845 construction began on the Fort Zachary Taylor, shortly after Florida became a state. Yellow fever, shortages of material and men, remoteness, hurricanes and the Civil War in 1861 all conspired to delay completion of the fort for 21 years.

Key West remained in Union hands as an important outpost since many blockade-running ships were detained at Key West Harbor and guarded by the impressive guns at the fort that had a range of 3  miles.

By the 1870’s sponge fishing and cigar making became very profitable industries. In 1900 Key West was the site of the first overseas telephone call to Havana, Cuba 90 miles away. In 1912 Henry Flagler’s railroad brought wealthy vacationers to the area. The Depression brought the boom time to a abrupt end and a hurricane in 1935 destroyed the railroad 100 miles to the north. But with Federal aid in 1935 the Overseas Highway was built with the hope of recreating Key West as a tourist destination. World War II dashed those hopes again, until a submarine base was built for the war effort.

During the administration of Harry S Truman the “Little White House” was built and was his fall and winter vacation home. He continued to use this home until 1969.

Later a thriving shrimp industry  became established in Key West. This helped the area reclaim it’s place in the sun. Today there are over 3 million visitors annually to Key West.

On the shore there was a constant stream of Conch Trains, Trolley Tours, and other tours to introduce the passengers of the Mariner to the charming city of Key West. It briefly rained and the fog rolled in and out so we were thankful to just hangout and enjoy the ship. Jim went to the computer lab to see if he could get the meals working but there were so many people in various stages of frustration that he came back. We may just live without email for two weeks and that won't be all bad. However  ewbarnet@icloud.com seems to work great!