Islamorada in Monroe County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Pioneer Cemetery

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, March 6, 2018

1. Pioneer Cemetery Marker

Inscription. This cemetery memorializes the determination and vision of over 50 pioneer Anglo-Bahamian Conchs who labored to settle and organize the first community on Matecumbe Key. Descendants of three Islamorada pioneer families, the Russells who homesteaded in 1854, the Pinders in 1873, and the Parkers in 1898, are buried on this land. Deeded to Richard Pinder on January 20, 1883, by President Chester A. Arthur, the land now is the property of the Matecumbe United Methodist Church.

North and adjacent to the cemetery lay the first church on the key, built in 1884 an transported to this site by raft ca. 1890. Next to it the first two-room frame schoolhouse was built ca. 1900, and later replaced by a coral-rock building.

A raging hurricane struck Islamorada on Labor Day in 1935, killing 50 members of the Russell family alone. The storm also destroyed the church, the schoolhouse and the "Millionaires' Row" of beachfront homes adjacent to this property. The survivors' descendants rebuilt their homes, a new church and a school west of this site and east of Henry Flagler's Overseas Railway, now US 1.

Erected by Cheeca Lodge

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in Cooperation with the Historical Association of Southern Florida.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Disasters • Religion & Religious Structures • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical date for this entry is January 20, 1883.

Location. 24° 54.905′ N, 80° 38.009′ W. Marker is in Islamorada, Florida, in Monroe County. It can be reached from Overseas Highway (U.S. 1) north of Johnston Road when traveling east. Marker and cemetery is located oceanside behind the Cheeca Lodge. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 81801 Overseas Highway, Islamorada FL 33036, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Keys.

It is also in the American South

and on the Gulf Coast.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At

Photographed by Tim Fillmon

2. Pioneer Cemetery Marker

least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Matecumbe Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Hurricane Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); The 1935 Hurricane (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Florida Keys Memorial (approx. 0.2 miles away); The Sweeting House (approx. ¼ mile away); Hurricane Houses (approx. ¼ mile away); Helen Wadley Branch Library (approx. ¼ mile away); Green Turtle Inn (approx. half a mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Islamorada.

Photographed by Tim Fillmon, March 6, 2018

3. Pioneer Cemetery Marker

National Register of Historic Places Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Patrick Duggan, July 11, 2025

4. National Register of Historic Places Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on July 16, 2025. It was originally submitted on May 25, 2020, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,095 times since then and 92 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on May 25, 2020, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 4. submitted on July 11, 2025, by Patrick Duggan of Los Angeles, California. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.