The Category 5, 1935 Labor Day Hurricane devastated Islamorada and the Upper Keys. The storm brought sustained winds above 180 mph, gusts over 200 mph, and 18 feet of tidal surge. Barometric readings reached a record-breaking low of 26.35 inches. It . . . — — Map (db m284864) HM
Sculptor Richard Blaze created Betsy the Lobster, made from fiberglass. She is a 30 foot high and 40 foot long biologically correct model of a Florida Spiny Lobster. The sculptor began to work on the piece in 1980 in Marathon Florida and it took . . . — — Map (db m292927) HM
Art McKee, "Father of Modern Treasure Diving", salvaged this iron cannon in the mid-1950's from the wreck of the H.M.S. Winchester that foundered in 1695 off of Key Largo near Carysfort Light.
Preparation, transport and placement at the History . . . — — Map (db m292928) HM
Early pioneers built their homes along the island chain's Atlantic edges to take advantage of the ocean breezes. Before the age of pest control and electricity, wind provided a rudimentary means of pest control and worked as a cooling element. Prior . . . — — Map (db m280053) HM
Upper Matecumbe Key has been inhabited periodically since about 2000 B.C. Much has changed on the island, but the climate, the sea, and the relaxed lifestyle continue.
Island Natives
Long before European settlement of Florida, Upper . . . — — Map (db m224647) HM
The early explorers reported seeing Indians in large dugout canoes, some fifty feet long piled with furs, feathers, and articles of trade between the Keys, Cuba, and the Bahamas.
Bahamian wood cutters after stripping the Bahamas of its hardwood . . . — — Map (db m292984) HM
The Florida Keys Memorial
The "Hurricane Monument" memorializes hundreds of American veterans and local citizens who died in the "Great Hurricane" of 1935. The cremated remains of approximately 300 veterans and local citizens were . . . — — Map (db m222363) HM
Over the past several million years, the seas have risen and fallen many times. There were times when Florida became very small and even disappeared due to being covered by water. What we know as Florida is only the top of a larger area, known as . . . — — Map (db m225802) HM
In 1928 the Rustic Inn was built to serve enthusiastic tourists traveling the Florida Keys on the new rail and highway systems. The Inn was one of the few structures left standing after the "Great Hurricane" of 1935. It was later repaired and . . . — — Map (db m150490) HM
The public library building was constructed originally by the Red Cross and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) three years after the "Great Hurricane” of 1935, to serve as a community hurricane shelter. Prior to that time no protective . . . — — Map (db m292934) HM
The veterans of World War I were promised a bonus but due to the Great Depression of the early 1930s the government was without funds.
Roosevelt was president and formed the Florida Emergency Relief Administration to create jobs for those . . . — — Map (db m116064) HM
The 1,000-square-foot Russell Cottage was built of Dade County pine circa 1937. It is an example of a typical home of vernacular construction built in the wake of the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. It was initially located near the Islamorada Post Office . . . — — Map (db m297777) HM
After the 'Great Hurricane' of 1935, the Red Cross and the Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed 16 houses for Islamorada area families. Built to be 'hurricane proof,' they consisted of poured concrete and steel. Several hurricane houses . . . — — Map (db m151492) HM
The veterans of World War I, under the Florida Emergency Relief Administration, were building piers in channel 2, just below Lower Matecumbe, when the greatest storm ever hit this part of the Keys. The 200-plus mile per hour winds with a barometer . . . — — Map (db m151493) HM
Indian Key is an 11-acre island located in the ocean at MM 78 directly offshore of the Indian Key Irving R. Eyster Bridge. Once home to Calusa Indians, the island was frequently used by Spanish explorers as a port to obtain freshwater from the . . . — — Map (db m292932) HM
Indian Key, an 11 acre island just offshore to the east, played an important part in Florida's history. An Indian village 1500 years ago, it was also the home of pirates roaming the Caribbean, and a ship wrecker's village during the 1810's. The . . . — — Map (db m176361) HM
Native Americans began occupying Indian Key by approximately A.D. 1000. It was visited by the Spanish during the 17th century, and a trading post had been established on the island by the early 19th century.
The island was acquired by Jacob . . . — — Map (db m224711) HM
These wells were surrounded by an Indian village over 1000 years ago. The Spanish used the wells to replace their water supply before crossing to the mother country.
This site was a salvage camp to recover the treasure from the Spanish galleons . . . — — Map (db m241229) HM
The first manufacturing industry in the Keys in Islamorada existed between 200 BC and 1250 AD. This dates to an Indian village that produced salt by trapping salt water. As the water evaporated it left salt.
Key West had a salt industry in the . . . — — Map (db m292931) HM
During the "Great Hurricane" of 1935, the Matecumbe Methodist Church was destroyed. It was originally located near the beach on the Atlantic side of Upper Matecumbe Key. In 1937 the congregation built a new wooden church adjacent to the Hurricane . . . — — Map (db m150491) HM
Juan Ponce de Leon was born in San Servas, Spain in 1460. He had served in the Spanish army and had accompanied Christopher Columbus in his second voyage in 1491. He was appointed governor of Haiti in 1511 and governor of Puerto Rico in 1512. . . . — — Map (db m83555) HM
From the time Ponce de Leon discovered Florida to exploration by the the Spanish and other nations, the reef of the Florida Keys was known as the most perilous part of the entire journey. Ships traversing to and from Europe to Cuba, the Caribbean, . . . — — Map (db m292933) HM
Matecumbe Methodist Church memorializes the determination and vision of the three pioneer families who labored to settle and organize the first community on Upper Matecumbe Key. These families were the Russells, Pinders and Parkers.
The early . . . — — Map (db m277943) HM
When the Europeans arrived in America, two tribes of Indians were found in Florida, the Calusa and the Tequesta. These tribes emerged from the Archaic Period (the time when Florida became subtropical, around 5000 B.C.). The Calusa was the largest . . . — — Map (db m222295) HM
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 . . . — — Map (db m150493) HM
Plantation Key was named for the many pineapple plantations in the early 1900s. Johnny Brush Pinder owned one of these containing over 100 acres. It was here on the beach in front of his home that he built the schooner "Island Home'. It was launched . . . — — Map (db m149435) HM
This plaque is in memory of the many Cubans who were desperate to leave Castros' communist Cuba. They left their homes and families trying to cross the 90 miles of sea in rafts, innertubes or anything that would float.
Not knowing what rough . . . — — Map (db m83553) HM
The "Overseas Railroad" was a masterpiece of engineering, proclaimed the "eighth wonder of the world." In 1904 Henry M. Flagler, oil magnate, hotelier, and owner of the Florida East Coast Railway, coined the battle cry for his engineers, "Go to . . . — — Map (db m224640) HM
In April, 1926, Monroe County began construction of a road on the east end of Upper Matecumbe to connect with other islands. It eventually made it possible to drive to Key West by using a ferry.
The first car drove to Key West on Jan. 25 1928 . . . — — Map (db m83879) HM
Lost in a hurricane July 1733,
bound for Cadiz, Spain from Havana, Cuba.
Underwater Archaeological Preserve.
Please leave the site as you found it.
A joint project of the Florida Department of State
Division of Historical . . . — — Map (db m311074) HM
The Vessel, San Pedro, was part of the Spanish colonial convoy system of the 1700s. These ships carried gold, silver and other goods from the new world back to Spain. After leaving Cuba on July 13, 1733, a hurricane forced the fleet towards the . . . — — Map (db m224717) HM
Established in 1934, during the Great Depression, Camp Three housed 250 Bonus Army veterans until September 2, 1935 when one of the worst hurricanes ever recorded destroyed everything there. The eye of the hurricane passed over nearby Craig Key with . . . — — Map (db m83592) HM
The south side of this property contained Robert's Grocery and the second post office. Today this is the site of the sixth post office. Across the highway, the original "Village of Islamorada" meaning "Island Home" was platted and named by William . . . — — Map (db m150460) HM
On Friday, July 13, 1733, the Spanish treasure fleet under the command of General Don Rodrigo de Torres Morales, sailed from Havana Harbor for Spain.
The fleet of 21 ships was loaded with gold and silver from the mine at Cartagena, Peruvian . . . — — Map (db m83550) HM
The Spanish Treasure Fleets
From the time Columbus discovered the New World in 1492, the Spanish transported goods back to Spain. Gold, silver, emeralds, and other riches were now transported on Spanish ships across the ocean . . . — — Map (db m222237) HM
The Storm that Still Howls
With winds in excess of 200-mph, the Labor Day hurricane of 1935 was the most intense storm ever recorded in the Western Hemisphere and was the first known Category 5 storm.
The full force of the deadly . . . — — Map (db m224629) HM
The great Labor Day hurricane of Sept. 2, 1935 destroyed almost every building in the Matecumbes.
The W.P.A. and the Red Cross built hurricane proof houses for the families whose homes were destroyed. The walls are 12" thick with steel and . . . — — Map (db m151490) HM
Indians lived on this island over 1000 years ago. In 1722, it was known as Boys Island. In Dec., 1838, Lt. Coste established a Naval base here and named it Ft. Paulding. This was the base for the West Indian Squadron used to blockade the coast to . . . — — Map (db m176362) HM
Like nearby Upper and Lower Matecumbe and Indian Keys, Tea Table Key was occupied by native Americans during prehistoric times. The early inhabitants settled here to take advantage of the abundance of maritime resources available in the area. . . . — — Map (db m224714) HM
1. North East end Lower Matecumbe Key - Ancient Water Wells - only fresh water on Upper Keys - Used by Indians, Sailors and Traders in XVII Century. Huge Indian Midden (Kitchen) near Wells.
2. Indian Key - Spanish Trading Post - established . . . — — Map (db m83862) HM
On January 3rd, 2023, six brave souls landed on the beach in Islamorada after navigating more than 140 miles in this homemade boat from Communist Cuba to freedom in the United States of America. — — Map (db m292926) HM
Yellow Submarine Circa mid-1960s; Unknown Maker; Colorado, USA
One-man submarine used by a Colorado fire-rescue team and later for recreational purposes by a Key West dive shop. It has a WWII era motor; a battery box; air-driven; ballast . . . — — Map (db m292929) HM
