History of Key West

In the late 19th century, salt and salvage declined as industries, but Key West gained a thriving cigar-making industry.

During Cuba's unsuccessful war for independence in the 1860s and 1870s, many Cubans sought refuge in Key West.

By 1889, Key West was the largest and wealthiest city in Florida.

Overseas by rail and road

Key West was relatively isolated until 1912, when it was connected to the Florida mainland via the Overseas Railway extension of Henry M. Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). Flagler created a landfill at Trumbo Point for his railyards. The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed much of the railroad and killed hundreds of residents, including around 400 World War I veterans who were living in camps and working on federal road and mosquito-control projects in the Middle Keys. The FEC could not afford to restore the railroad.

The U.S. government then rebuilt the rail route as an automobile highway, completed in 1938, which became an extension of United States Highway 1. The portion of U.S. 1 through the Keys is called