Why go
This history ties visible places to the forces that built the town. Fort Zachary Taylor guarded a valuable harbor even as many residents sympathized with the Confederacy. Wrecking, fishing and salt making supported island life; later Cuban migration and events around the USS Maine connected Key West to conflicts beyond Florida.
The full story
Florida seceded during the Civil War, but Union troops held Key West because of its naval base. Fort Zachary Taylor, begun before the war, became a key outpost. East and West Martello towers were also started as part of the island's defenses. The town's economy was tied to the water through wrecking and salvage, fishing, turtling and salt production. Union forces stopped salt making when Confederate sympathizers smuggled it south. The industry resumed after the war, then suffered a severe blow from an 1876 hurricane. Cuban refugees arrived during the Ten Years' War, adding another strand to the island's nineteenth-century life. In 1898, the USS Maine sailed from Key West toward Havana; after it exploded there, crew members were buried in Key West and an inquiry took place at the Custom House. The fort and waterfront make these military, working and cross-strait histories easier to connect.
Useful to know
- Combine Fort Zachary Taylor with the Old Town waterfront to connect the defenses with the harbor they protected.