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HISTORY OF NORTH KEY LARGO

HISTORY OF


NORTH KEY LARGO                                      



by Jerry Wilkinson







On this web site I have divided the history of the Island of Key Largo into four separate pages: North Key Largo, Key Largo  Rock Harbor  and Tavernier . None of these are incorporated; therefore, are simply non-specific communities which continue to evolve. As I write the community of Rock Harbor is fading. The community of Newport has faded other than for the name of a HUD housing project. Planter which once was all of southern Key Largo is now mostly a memory being replaced by Tavernier, the name of the railroad depot and second post office. Once concrete water cisterns dotted the shoreline, but development is taking them out. Time marches on.



The north end of Key Largo, consisting of Ocean Reef and The Angler's Club, is generally thought of as a relatively new community. However, Capt. John Whalton had a garden along the Atlantic coast on north Key Largo, while manning the lightships Caesar [1826-30] and Florida [1830-37]. This was before the construction of the Carysfort Lighthouse in 1852.

Capt. Whalton owned a house in Key West, but on occasion would bring his family to Key Largo. He had a garden and a building of some sort on the north Key Largo Atlantic shore, but it appears that he and his family stayed aboard-ship. The location of the lightship is thought to be in the area of Turtle Harbor. When Captain Whalton was coming ashore in June 1837, Indians killed him. His surviving family was taken to Indian Key and returned to Key West. Various news releases provide this information as it received considerable attention during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). One surviving nautical chart denoting the incident is annotated Walton's Cove [sic] by HMSS Thunder Commander Barnett a few miles north of a line to the present day Carysfort Lighthouse. Basin Hills is also north of a line to Carysfort Lighhouse but not quite as much northward as Walton's Cove [sic]. My copy of the chart is not dated, but the HMS Survey ship Thunder was in operation from 1833 to 1853. The purpose for the chart was noting the Lightship Florida which he annotated Lat 25' degrees, 12 minutes and Long 80 degrees, 16 minutes, 20 seconds W.



Additional evidence of early habitation on Key Largo is from the wrecking court records of the ship Quebec dated 26 June 1848. Thomas Bennett of the wrecking sloop Empire testified, ". . . he sent off by George Richards, carpenter of the sloop, 17 small (not readable) rocking chairs and two paintings (all that he had) on shore to be stored in a house on Key Largo which is unoccupied. . ."



Passersby in ships made mention of a settlement on Key Largo in the mid-1800s, however no specifics. There are a few references to a late 1800s settlement at High Mangrove Point, which is a point of land on the ocean side just south of present-day Ocean Reef. There are no specific facts concerning this settlement, as there are about Basin Hills, which was a little farther south. Basin Hills existed in the same period as did Newport, Planter and Matecumbe. Its religious needs were served by the same itinerant Methodist ministers who served these communities on a weekly basis.





There are two sources of material referring to a community named Red Bird City. The first source is a Miami Herald newspaper article of a Pinder family fishing, farming and collecting red birds on Key Largo. The article is of a Ridley Curtis Pinder whose father had four sisters married to other Pinders on Key Largo. 




The second source of the existence of Red Bird City is written account of Benjamin Russell by his great granddaughter, Marian L. Thompson, in collaboration with her mother, Elizabeth Page, and grandmother, Marian Russell. Research shows a Benjamin A. Russell did homestead on northern Key Largo in 1883 and the family is found in the 1885 census. Benjamin is 47 years old and his wife Ester is 39 and have five children: William W. (17), Nellie B. (11), Ella M. (8), Alice G. (6) and Marian L. (1). This account is very descriptive of family life in the early Keys and I suggest that it is a must-read. 




There is postal data of a settlement named Aiken that may have existed on North Key Largo around 1895. I wish to hear from any reader who could collaborate this early settlement. Throughout the Keys, there were scattered settlements even before the principal population movement that occurred when Florida became a U.S. Territory in 1821. Throughout the 1800s there was plenty of Florida land seemingly un-owned. With the official surveying of the Keys in 1872, land could then be confidently identified, purchased and resold. For example, Indian Key was bought and resold many times in the early 1800s, but was never legally owned by any of the buyers and sellers until 1910.



One of these first North Key Largo land buyers was Samuel S. Lowe who purchased and homesteaded about 900 acres of land in the area of the old missile site on CR-905. The 1880 census reveals a Samuel Lowe, white, male, age 40, occupation “farmer” lived on Key Largo, Florida. He lived there with his wife, Euphemia, age 36, a son Benjamin, age 15, occupation “farm laborer” and two other younger children. I conclude that owning 900 acres qualify Samuel Lowe as a serious farmer.





Most historians conclude that pineapples were the crop of choice in the late 1800s for Upper Keys farmers. It is estimated that 85% of the pineapples for the U.S. came from the Upper Keys.



If pineapples was the crop of Mr. Lowe, he undoubtedly used the slash and burn method to perpetuate his crops. Pineapples primarily grew in the leaf mold generated by millenniums of native forests. Based of shipping information available and the soil condition, new land had had to be slashed and burned every three to four years; therefore, one can assume considerable land was cleared. The 1890 U.S. census for Florida was accidentally burned; therefore, it cannot be determined whether Samuel Lowe was still here in 1890. He is not listed in the 1900 census.





A later North Key Largo land buyer was Thomas Lowe Sr. from the Bahamas, who purchased about $400 worth of land near High Mangrove Hammock. Thomas Lowe is found in the 1910 census. We have never found a recorded deed for his land; however, it is said to have bordered 36.5 acres recorded as Lot 5 of Section 32 of TS59S, R41E, which were purchased in 1886 by James Roberts. The story is that Lowe gave Pumpkin Key its name because he could grow pumpkins there, since there were no rodents to eat his crops.



Tom Lowe and his son, Matt, made their living by catching fish and turtles, harvesting sponges and farming extensively pumpkins, melons and raising bees. It was not long before others moved in and settled. Flagler brought the railroad to Miami in 1896 and this brought new settlers and speculators to the Miami area. Soon Tom and Matt Lowe, and James Roberts were surrounded by privately owned land.



C. E. Chillingsworth, an attorney, purchased the 40 acres that are the site of the today's Angler's Club. The land was resold in 1912 to a Mr. W. A. Scott from Fargo, North Dakota. Mr. Scott was serious about his fishing and constructed a first class two-story coral rock house.



Life was much the same on North Key Largo as on the rest of the Upper Keys, except that they could boat more easily to Cutler, Coconut Grove and Miami. Goods could be purchased, sold or traded without involving a major voyage. Fresh water was caught and stored in cisterns and replenished from these communities during water shortages, using 50-gallon wooden whiskey barrels. Services from the mainland were also provided by passing sailboats traveling up and down Hawk Channel. A homemade boat named Dispatch would row out to meet the passing ships. In 1817 an American Merchantman named Despatch (sic) sank on Carysfort Reef while en route to Charleston. The use of the name Dispatch is prevalent in the area. There were no schools, stores, post offices, or doctors on North Key Largo at that time.



The railroad changed people's lives in the Keys, as well as everywhere else in east Florida. Miami grew fast and by 1908 routine rail service was completed as far as Marathon. Monroe County funded a meager road on Key Largo in 1917 with a $100,000 bond issue and by 1927 had built the Card Sound Road with a wooden swing bridge to allow boat traffic to pass. By the following year, State Road 4A was officially completed and one could drive to Key West by auto by using the road and two ferries. The original road bumped across a series of wooden bridges from the east side of Card Sound and to the south about where the old missile site is located.



Later, large amounts of explosives were required to build roads, canals and landfills in South Florida. Regular ships routinely ran aground, sunk, or otherwise blocked the narrow channel into the Port of Miami. To prevent a dynamite laden ship from blocking the Miami harbor, a pier was built out into the Atlantic just below present-day Ocean Reef for unloading this type of cargo. Explosives were also exported from this pier until an agreement was made with the DuPont Corporation to use its licensed dock near Port St. Lucie. The Key Largo pier became known as "Dynamite Docks" and later became the site of drug and alien-smuggling operations. Today, it is administered by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The old pier has been torn out and the natural water circulation restored.



By the time of World War I, most of the land was deeded, but there was no significant building. Early North Key Largo property owners were Lowes, Roberts, Chillingsworths, Scotts, Porters, Grahams, Speers, Palmers, Hannahs, Pierces and others. Still, much of the land had been deeded to the Jacksonville, Tampa, Key West Railway Company and the Blue Springs, Orange City and Atlantic Railroad Company by the Swamplands Act of 1850. This land was given to the two companies to entice them to build railroads in north Florida.





In the area of the Speers' property came a group of North Dakota land buyers. Research is difficult but perhaps not the first, a fisherman, Jack Graham, appears to entice other North Dakota buyers to group anound Township 59, Range 40, sections 12 and 13. The first obvious manifestation was when a W.A. Scott of Fargo, North Dakota build a very nice two-story coral rock house.













- The Key Largo Angler's Club -





The Key Largo Angler's Club was slowly materializing long before the Ocean Reef Club. It began as private property being transferred from one owner to another back in the 1880s, as did most of the Island of Key Largo. In 1912 a W.A. Scott of Fargo, North Dakota acquired the property and constructed a fine two-story coral-rock house, part of which remains today as part of the dining room.



The first Over seas Highway was opened in 1928 passing over the Card Sound road just south of the Scott property - farther south than it is today (2001). Lost is the deed transferring the property to L.J. Stranahan; however, in 1932 Stranahan transferred the property and the Scott house to the Roney Investment Company which owned other Florida inns including the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables and the Roney Plaza at Miami Beach. The Roney Investment Company was owned by Henry L. Doherty, the founder/owner of Cities Services Corporation. The property and house was developed into an early exclusive resort. A car pulling a semi-trailer type of bus, known as the Aerocar, was used to transport guests from its Miami enterprises to the Angler's Club.

Another unusual mode of transportation, unique to the Florida Year Round Club was the Auto gyro. This airship was apparently an early half-breed between an airplane and a helicopter. Unlike the Aerocar, only the wealthiest guests were delivered from Miami and other destinations via the Auto gyro. These guests were either pressed for time or enjoyed the status of arrival on the "high-tech" vessel of the day. Either way, the arrival of the Auto gyro was the most talked about event of the era. The club was managed by Dave Curtis and assisted by Don Miller. The club was for all practical purposes closed for the WW-II years.



Soon things were attractive enough for President Hoover to vacation there for fishing trips and we are not certain what this date was. President Hoover fished at other Keys locations such as the Flagler's Long Key Fishing Camp, Craig's Camp and Bill Thompson's Dock in the Marathon area. The late Slim Pinder of Tavernier was one of Mr. Hoover's early fishing guides and perhaps the last guide was Calvin Albury of Rock Harbor. President Hoover is quoted as saying, "The Assyrian tablet of 2000 B.C. says 'The Gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men's lives the hours spent fishing.'" A circa 1950 oil painting of Mr. Hoover and guide Calvin Albury adorns a wall of an additional to the original Scott house.





Seldom mentioned is the crude oil discovery program in Florida. It passed a bill in 1941 called Florida Oil Discovery Award Bill. $50000 was to be given the first company to strike oil - not sure of the exact wording. Humble Oil won with a producing well near Immokalee, but the race was on. Not certain of the precise schedule but permits began in 1944 out in Barnes Sound near now Turkey Point but only asphalt was found (Republic Oil Co.). Again the Sinclair and Commonwealth Oil Co. tried again in 1953 in the area near (northeast) where the Missile site will be later built with an actual derrick supposedly down to 11,968 feet and no reported oil - That was a large project!. For years pieces of the core samples were thrown about. Local geologist Eugene Shinn participated in many surveys but I recall not in Keys Water - Bahamas and Cuban before Castro.





In 1946 the property was purchased by the CAMRAY Corporation, A Florida incorporation 06/19/1946. The "CAM" of CAMRAY was company representative representative Clint Campbell, a former manager of the Florida Year Round Club. The "RAY" Camray Don and Nina Rayburn, Don was a wealthy Michigan petroleum producer. CAMRAY company representative, Clint Campbell and wife Kay, occupied the club's East Cottage as Resident Mangers. Renewed interest and investment revived the club and a breakwater with a dock was constructed. Under Clint, a complete face-lift was done that included a new clubhouse and swimming pool. Mr. Hoover occupied the Dashiell Hammett cottage which became known as the Hoover cottage.





The mid-1960s slowed the club with the unexpected loss of owner/manager Clint Campbell. His wife, Kay, and brother, Whitney, made the transition just in time for August 1965 Hurricane Betsy to cause considerable damage. As with most natural catastrophe's, the club improved it infrastructure under the leadership of Kay, Whitney and a dedicated membership. In 1969, the new concrete Card Sound Bridge greatly improved the egress and ingress with the mainland.





In 1971, Edith and Benson Ford purchased the club from Don Rayburn and continued the progress under their ownership, stewardship and leadership. In 1978, Mr. Ford passed away transferring ownership to his wife and two years later Mrs. Ford passed away. The Ford estate leased the club to the club members for $1 a year with the understanding that the members would acquire the property. The Anglers Club Members Association, Inc. was formed in March 17, 1982.





Eventually, an equity member owned private club evolved that continued its privacy, charm and beauty while offering social and recreational amenities consistent with conservation and preservation visions of its founders. This was well tested by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and remains a superb old Florida Keys fishing camp.





- The Ocean Reef Club



Moving northeast to the oceanside of north Key Largo, Floride (Flo) Robinson provided first-hand knowledge of the property, later to become known as Ocean Reef. Flo, with her husband Seymour and children Diane, David and Carol, were caretakers of the Despatch Creek Fishing Camp in 1942. The house had four cabins and some docks, all of which were accessible by a rough, rutted and muddy road continuing from the Angler's Club entrance. The Robinsons were well acquainted with Dave and Ron Miller of the Angler's Club. They frequently purchased vegetables from Mr. Lowe's road-side stand just south of the Angler's Club. Fresh water that ran off the roof was caught in barrels. Cooking and light was provided by kerosene. They bathed in Dispatch Creek, except during their family visits and shopping trips to Miami.



The Robinson's moved to Key West when Diane was old enough to attend school and the closest school being about 30 miles away in Tavernier - a 60-mile a day trip. It is believed their house was improved, with a water tower added, and the home eventually became the fish camp owned by Morris Baker. Today, this is the Ocean Reef Club, one of the wealthiest property developments in America.



With specific regard to Ocean Reef, Morris and Alice Baker of Minneapolis, Minnesota wanted to buy the Angler's Club. See photo to the right. It was not for sale at the time, so they purchased sight-unseen 40 acres of property to its northeast at the mouth of Despatch Creek - The Despatch Creek Fishing Camp. By the end of the 50s, Morris had increased his stake to about 1,300 acres.





For example, 80 acres were originally owned by Gen. Ivor Thord-Gray who had died and the Irvine family of St. Paul then owned it. Thord-Gray was born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1778, came to the U.S. in 1922, I believe he moved to Florida in 1933 and served as as Major General for the Florida Militia in 1935 as well as on the personal staff of the governor. But, who was this man? He is known world wide, but not in Florida other than the street named Grayvik Drive (also Grayvik Harbor) at Ocean Reef. The Swedish that I have corresponded with say "Gray" means 'the colour and the General's name' and "vik" means 'bay.' His 1920s house in Connecticut was named 'Gray Court.' See 1958 aerial of Gravik Harbor at Ocean Reef to the rignt.



According to a letter written by Mrs. Alice Baker, Morris Baker's wife, the fishing camp was still much as described by Flo Robinson when Mr. Baker made his first visit in 1946. The Bakers, as is apparent today, had vision. Channels were dredged, docks built, land filled, roads made and finally an inn, with coffee shop, gas station and water tower were added. The airport, with a landing strip of 2,000 feet was dedicated on May 18-20, 1956. Ocean Reef was now accessible by land, sea and air.



Morris Baker passed away in 1959 and progress continued, with the construction of many recreational facilities, villas, golf courses, country clubs and homes under sons, William and Roger Baker. The Miami Herald announced 300 home sites offered for sale in October 1959. A model home by Edward Rempe of Coral Gables was near completion at a sale price of $25,000. During the same period, the concept of Yachtel''s were introduced. Small prefabed luxury cottages were trucked in and installed along selected waterways where boat owners could have their boats and live in small individual rented residences. It also constructed its own dedicated employee housing, a subject of much discussion today.



The Monroe County Commission approved another Ocean Reef plat in July 1963. Ownership was transferred to Harper Sibley Jr. and his partner Morris Burke in 1969 and it became officially The Ocean Reef Club. Expansion was the game with a full time medical facility the Ocean Reef Chapel and other amenities. The constant additional of the most modern facilities required equally modern financial services which was the American Financial Corporation.



Visionaries among the local members began acquisition talks in 1985 but the Club was not for sale. A dedicated and tenacious Acquisition Committed succeeded on its quest on March 1, 1993 and American Finance chairman Carl Linder finalized the sale to the individual property owners association - ORCA.







The above aerial photos depicts the concentrated and rapid growth of the Ocean Reef Club area of North Key Largo half a century. Ocean Reef also operates an excellent museum of its role in the Keys.



North Key Largo has been a part of many dreams. In 1929, it was to be the southern terminus of a causeway linking the islands to the north to Miami Beach. The principal island is Elliott Key, however, there are others such as Old Rhodes Key, Sands Key, Boca Chita, Ragged Keys and Soldier Key. (Henry Flagler developed Soldier Key as an adjunct to the Royal Palm Hotel on the Miami River. All of these linking islands were called "Islandia" under a Dade County charter. Islandia actually was not a part of Key Largo, but and it was a significant "but." If Islandia passed State's muster, its southern route would pass directly through Ocean Reef - from the very top to the very bottom. It did not happen, but below is short piece re Islandia.





- Islandia -





From the times of Black Caesar there appears to have been some interest in this group of about 33 islands. In 1920, Miami Beach entrepreneur Carl Fisher took an interest is the area when he opened his millionaires get-away Coco Lobo Cay Clubhouse on Caesar's Creek (Adams Key). Four American presidents and untold other well-heeled citizens had visited the club, not to mention all the rum-runners that frequently the area.



I am not certain when the idea for the City of Islandia germinated, but as a group I believe it was before 1951. I have copy of the Islandia, Florida logo noting "Founded 1951". Islandia is generally pronounced "eye-LAN-dee-ah." It did officially incorporate as a municipality of Dade County on December 6, 1960. Twelve votes from twelve voters created the municipality - only in Florida. Its mayor was Ralph A. Fossey.





It seems as if there were 13 major islands forming Islandia, Elliott Key being the largest. In 1886, Jeremiah Saunders from Green Turtle Key, Bahamas, was was given a land grant signed by Grover Cleveland. This was probably the start of the large pineapple plantations for which Elliott Key became famous. Other Bahamian families were: William D. Albury, Henry Filer, George Sweeting, Thomas Sweeting, Arthur Higgs, Alfred Acheson, Parson Israel Lafayette Jones, etc.



From a copy of the May 1965 "Islandia News" a paragraph titled, "What's Cooking In Islandia" reads: "Right now, two bulldozers are clearing land in Islandia, - a drag line is digging a new harbor, a pile driver is building docks and there are 10 (count'en) cars and trucks in the city." The issue continues about the Islandia Ferry service. A special notice was "The FERRY runs daily except Thursdays to allow for necessary maintenance, etc. Use the Ferry during the week."





The development of Islandia was seriously opposed by environmentalists. However, Islandia's experienced a huge problem when Daniel Luvig, a reclusive billionaire, sought to build a huge oil refinery - SEADADE- on the property now the Turkey Point Nuclear Electric plant. Luvig's oil refinery petitioned the state for a permit to dredge a 50 foot deep access canal. Of course, this also outraged the environments, but the cost to build a 65's elevated bridge in the Islandia 6-lane causeway was programmatic for the developers.





It is a long, long story and I am not certain that it is over now; however, in January of 1990 the state declared all its elections were illegal as none of the City Council lived in Islandia, were registered to vote in Dade County and only land owners could vote and many also voted in Dade County.





Congressman Dante Fascell resolved the situation when he successfully created the Biscayne National Monument, then the Biscayne National Park on June 28, 1980. [I believe Luvig built his oil refinery in the Bahamas - JW]





It is believed that the Ocean Reef Club breathed a sigh of relief as the proposed highway would have passed right through the middle of the ORC.





- City of North Key Largo Beach -





Monroe County had until recently only three incorporated cities, Key West, Key Colony Beach and Layton. However, it once had the fourth city before Islamorada. In 1955, the City of North Key Largo Beach was incorporated with 1,500 acres south of the Angler's Club by its city clerk, A. N. Spense. The land had been purchased in 1940 when prices were quite low.

In 1944 the wooden Card Sound bridge burned and was not replaced. Nothing was ever built but when the Islandia project went defunct, the city was successful in arranging for a $2.6 million bond issue to build a new Card Sound toll bridge. In 1969, the new Card Sound bridge opened providing easy access to the mainland cutting 12-miles off the travel from the mainland to Ocean Reef and the Angler's Club.



Building was booming in the keys, but nothing much happened on North Key Largo. With the new bridge opened and Ocean Reef booming, the Key Largo Beach city fathers predicted in 1969 the town would grow to 5000 by 1974 and 100,000 by 1990. In 1973 a couple of Miami developers with $2.5 billion city of the future. The plan was for a three large marinas, four hotels and 10 health spas with single family homes for 35,000 people. To support the operation would be a heliport (back to the Auto gryo days), a hydrofoil base, a golf course, airport and monorail.



The mayor was Newton (Tubby) Field, who had bought and sold everything from mountain tops to cows. The thinking was that as a municipality, the City of North Key Largo Beach could set its own rules. Tubby Field was also involved in Islandia.



The following year (1975) the Florida Keys were declared an Area of Critical State Concern (discussed a few paragraphs later) and the state seized control of growth management. Compared with the fragile environment of the Keys, growth was out of control and this was the reins to rein it in.



Threatened by the state legislature, the city developed a land-use plan with zoning for single unit houses and low density multi-family buildings - no high rises. The big dreams of a huge city had pretty much evaporated by 1982. The city remained officially on the books until 2003 when it was abolished.



- Cuban Missile Crisis -





There were a series of events leading up to the Cuban Missile Crisis. Late in the event on October 14, 1962 a U-2 spy plane showed Soviet missiles in Cuba. On October 18 Russia said the missiles were "defensive." the next day the photos revealed larger missiles. On October 22, President announces the "quarantine." Within three days portable HAWK missiles were in Key West and a week later the Nike Hercules formed a defense perimeter from Miami southward. October 27 was "Black Saturday" and the next day Premier Khruschev accepted the offer to withdraw the missiles.



The two-week crisis was over but the temporary military bases remained. HM-40 was moved from the Florida City area to south of the road to dynamite docks. C-905 had a different path then and passed to the east of the missile site. The nation decided it needed continued protection and the site was upgraded with the HM-40 Nike Hercules Missile in 1965.



At the site there were 120 men on 24-hour alert with 12 missiles with high explosive warheads on duty 24 hours a day. Nuclear warheads were in the arsenal but none reportedly were at the Key Largo site HM-40 The actual missiles were across the road south of this site in hardened storage bunkers now part of the Crocodile Refuge. The north Key Largo site was one of three local sites, the other two being in Key West and the Everglades near Florida City. All were interconnected and ready to launch simultaneously.



Even with the new bridge, the 269-acre home of B Battery, 2nd Missile Battalion, 52nd Air Defense Artillery Brigade was closed in 1979. The HIPAR radome was visible from the peak of the bridge. 'A Battery' is in the Everglades National Park and occasionally tours are given. Both the radar and launch areas are preserved there but without the radar towers. I have suggested moving our towers to there in order to present a better concept of operation. Call the park's visitor center for possible tour information. As with most abandoned military sites, many different uses have been proposed for the abandoned site. One use proposed was a minimum security prison in 1989, but the new jail at Stock Island was built instead. The radar towers are now in thick over growth and spotting them is difficult. The radar site portion east of CR-905 is under the control of Key Largo Hammocks Botanical State Park at about mile marker C-8.5. Permits to visit the site can be obtained at the Hqs at Pennekamp park. The missile launch site on the west side is in the federal Crocodile Lake Wildlife Preserve of the Department of Fish and Wildlife.










- Area of Critical State Concern -





Numerous events in the 1940s lead to rapid growth in the Upper Florida Keys - public electricity, public water, an improved/shortened route of US-1, an accredited high school and mosquito control to mention a few. Federal laws enacted to protect its environment were the Clean Air Act and the Endangered Species Act in the mid-1960s. President Nixon created the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1970 the same year that the first Earth Day was celebrated. Following in 1972 the Clean Water Act was passed.





Dredging and filling throughout the Keys were rampant. In order to control local government's lack of ability/desire to control development, on April 15, 1975, the Florida Keys became an Area of Critical State Concern (ACSC). This was supposed to control growth to prevent the Keys from becoming a concrete and asphalt jungle. However, in 1978 the Florida Supreme Court declared the ACSC process unconstitutional meaning all previous rulings were invalid. The Florida legislature revised the ACSC process the following year making 1979 the effective date. Details of the ACSC process can be found in the Florida Statute 380.05.



In 1982, DCA had a consultant (STAR) prepare "Inpact Analysis of Florida Keys Critical Area Designation" study. The 300 page report said generally what every one already knew - as in the 1930s prohibition days, the Keys had simply ignored it.



In 1983 the DCA threatened a state take over or moratorium for all new development and it development a management plan. The county countered that the state had not provided the necessary funds to development a land use map. Slowly, both sides began a compromise process.



Regardless, it was not very effective as by 1984 at least 51 new major developments were in the system, but not all approved. By 1982, there were 15 condominium projects just along CR-905 in the planning stages. The Miami Herald newspaper made a series of exposé's of the growth and the photo to the right is from one of the issues. The Miami Herald's numbers were that that North Key Largo alone would house from 25,000 to 45,00 new people. At the minimum, there would have been a larger population from MM 106.5 to Ocean Reef than from Tavernier Creek to MM 106.5 - an estimated 20,000 by the year 2000. Some thought the Monroe County carrying capacity could easily handle a population of 130,000. CR-905 was to be four-laned and an Upper Keys airport was to be built. Few noticed the $1.7 million 1979 12-inch pipeline from MM 106 to Ocean Reef - a pipeline that Ocean Reef did not even want. The developers needed the water line or it would not happen.



Most projects are now forgotten, but one of the larger projects of the mid-1970s was the North Key Largo Yacht Club, also known as Solarelle. Solarelle had property on both sides of highway 905 just north of the dividing point of US 1 and CR 905 on Key Largo - 406 acres. This project had been approved in 1974 before the state approved ACSC; therefore, had certain vested rights. In 1980, Fritz Sharenberg took over the project and renamed it Port Bougainville - the name we associate with today. Under Mr. Sharenberg, 2806 units were to be constructed. The development order was issued in 1982.



An October 18, 1982 Monroe County Grand Jury lengthy report felt,"... proper development of the Florida Keys is the most critical issue facing the people of this county...." but reported that, "... No evidence was presented to this Grand Jury showing criminal conduct by any public official or anyone involved in the Port Bougainville Development...." The report continued, "... This Grand Jury can only conclude that the performance of governmental agencies involved will stand as a landmark in ineptitude."





Environmental groups had swung into action in an all out attempt to save Key Largo and the reef. It was nip and tuck but the problem was solved by the lender bank. In July 1984, the Continental Illinois and Trust called in the $54 million construction loan in default and basically construction ground to a halt. It was originally a $180 million line of credit. Sharenberg filed a counter suit for $300 million and the project was placed in receivership to control day to day functions. All the environmental groups quietly celebrated, but small construction projects continued until January 1985. Port Bougainville is now history and slowly returning to its natural habitat.



At present, much of North Key Largo is being purchased as conservation areas by the government. The west side of highway 905 is being purchased by the federal government and the east side (Atlantic) is being purchased by the State of Florida. Basin Hills and High Mangrove Hammock are only names on some maps. Red Bird City is still an enigma. The approach to Dynamite Docks has been removed to allow better circulation of the ocean water. Developers are now seeking huge and expensive affordable housing complexes.



Today, the Ocean Reef Club and the Anglers Club remain exclusive, isolated and private gated communities on the north tip of Key Largo. Both are easily accessible by land, air and sea. To their south, Florida Crocodiles sunbathe in the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge.





What does the future bring? This remains to be seen as movements within the county and state seek to deregulate Monroe County from being an ACSC.



HISTORY OF

ROCK HARBOR



By Jerry Wilkinson











Even the name Rock Harbor is a mystery in itself as there was no deep-water harbor to justify this name for the community. The first substantiated use of the name began in 1909 as a railroad depot. In the railroad days the community of Rock Harbor spanned about five miles, using the present mile markers from MM 96 to 100. Today, Rock Harbor is slowly being absorbed by the community of Key Largo even though neither are incorporated as of 2000.

Offshore of Rock Harbor are two keys. Both are uninhabited and the first is Dove Key. Bernard Romans described the key from his 1766 voyage as a "very small, gravelly and rather high, with a few bushes on it; during rainy seasons it affords good fresh water and a few doves; we also find purslain growing on it."



The second and larger is Rodriguez Key and is thought to have been named after Captain Melchor Rodriquez of the ship La Salvadora which sunk somewhere "in the Bahama Channel" loaded with pearls" in 1582. Presently, Rodriguez Key is probably best remembered as a proposed site to raise monkeys for experimental laboratory use. Locals were successful in stopping the venture.



The most believable explanation for the name Rock Harbor comes from the surrounding shallow harbor with its rocky shoreline, used to ship construction materials from her bayside waters. One factor supporting this contention is "Rockharbor[sic]" was shown as a designated railroad stop on the 1909 F.E.C. Railway time tables.



Flagler’s construction crews used barges throughout the Keys to support land operations. Key West and Knight’s Key had the only deep water harbors, therefore ships had to anchor offshore and barge material in and out. Because of lack of a barge mounted concrete plant combined with the unstable fill across Lake Surprise, Flagler’s first construction train was barged across Jewfish Creek to lay track southward on Key Largo in November 1906. About the same time, Engineer Dusenbury dredged Dusenbury Creek deeper to support inside passage of larger construction boats.



Stepping further back in time, a report written by R. M. Munroe of Coconut Grove in 1893 told of a Captain Benjamin Baker who "settled on the lower end of Key Largo in 1866" and started growing pineapples. Baker applied for and operated a post office named Cayo Largo from 1870 to 1871 somewhere in the Rock Harbor area. The post office location is not specific as Key Largo was not surveyed until 1872. Baker's 1882 approved 160 acre homestead was in the MM 97 area, therefore one may assume the post office was near the same location.



Most likely, this Capt. Ben Baker was the same "King of the Wreckers" Ben Baker of Key West fame. He also operated pineapple plantations on Key Largo and Plantation Key, where he farmed while awaiting a shipwreck. Most shipwreck salvors had second occupations, generally fishermen. In one of his wrecking reports, he stated that he spotted the wreck from his porch on Key Largo. Miss Lamar Louise Curry played in this area as a young lady and remembers seeing the grave of Ben Baker on her father's property at mile marker 97. Capt. Ben Baker is credited for starting the pineapple farming industry in the Upper Keys. Wreckers are discussed in the General History page 'Wrecking'.



Mary Baker of the 1870 census homesteaded 142 acres in 1883 at the north end of Rock Harbor. Her relationship to Ben Baker remains unclear however. Sylvanus Pinder, who was not listed on the 1870 census, homesteaded 136 acres in the middle part of Rock Harbor. It appears that the two Bakers and Sylvanus Pinder owned most of the entire Rock Harbor area. These were relatively large land tracts, and were divided into smaller parts to form the community of Rock Harbor. Benjamin Baker’s 1870 post office application stated he expected to provide mail for 17 families.



In the intro I stated that the name Rock Harbor is illusive. In the 1890 school board records are details of a school at Rocky Bay. The board generally listed schools from south to north. The October 4, 1894 lists Upper Keys schools as :

East End Matecumbe School

Plantation Key School

Planter School

Rocky Bay School (Mrs. Sarah Whigham is the teacher)

Basin Hills.

Planter was on the south end of Key Largo and Basin Hills far to the north. Therefore, could Rocky Bay have been in the Rock Harbor vicinity and illustrate the use of 'rocky' as a term referring to the area?



Postal records show on June 7, 1915 a post office established using the name Rock Harbor. Ellen L. Cribb is listed as the first postmaster. A copy of the 1870 Census can be accessed from the General History page.



As time passed, the names Baker and Pinder were replaced by Albury, Bethel, Curry, Johnson, Felton, Thompson and Sawyer. From 1927 to 1941, F. E. Kelly plotted the Mandalay subdivision on the ocean side of Rock Harbor. Mandalay was the local center of commercial fishing and the location of the original 1915 Rock Harbor post office. This location could have originated the name Rock Harbor. C. O. Garrett, a later postmaster, built a four story observation tower nearby.



One of the oldest remaining houses still standing in its original location is that of William Beauregard Albury in the highway median at mile marker 98.2. Beauregard was only three weeks old when his father, William Dunham Albury and mother, Mary Jane (Pinder) Albury, moved from Key West to Key Largo in 1886. It is thought that they first settled in Basin Hills on North Key Largo before moving to Rock Harbor. The large wooden tank next to the house, privately used as a cistern, is similar to the Flagler Railroad water tanks used to bring water into the Keys.



Like the rest of Key Largo island residents, the Albury family first grew pineapples until the hurricanes, blights and importation of Cuban pineapples by the railroad ruined the Keys' pineapple market, which is when they switched to growing limes. The lime market also soured when the Florida mainland grew the Persian lime which shipped and showed better than the smaller and yellow Key lime. The now grown up Beauregard became a charter fisherman, his occupation for the next 30 years. People brought in by the railroad and the pristine fishing waters established the demand for charter fishing guides throughout the Keys. In 1913, he with the help of his father built his conch-style house just south of the railroad depot. In 1923, he donated the land to build the coral-rock Rock Harbor grammar school at MM 98.8. The school later became the Getman Methodist Church, the Tobacco Road Tavern and the RBC Lumber Company. Today, it is the rock portion of the Moose Lodge.



The family of J. Bunion Bethel and wife "Ma Lilly" (Sands) moved from Abaco, Bahamas to Planter in 1896 to farm. Seeking their own land, they moved to the Basin Hills area before permanently settling in Rock Harbor. George Wellington (Inky) Sawyer moved from Cherokee Sound, Bahamas and married Emma Elizabeth Bethel to begin another branch of the Sawyer family in Rock Harbor. The house that he rebuilt after the 1935 hurricane remains in the highway median. Its water cistern has been sawed open to permit entry as a storage room. The cross-section view of the doorway sides reveals early "tabby" concrete construction. Tabby concrete was locally made by using powdered-baked conch shells in place of portland cement as a binder.



Another prominent Rock Harbor family was that of Edmund and Elizabeth Albury who moved from Abaco, Bahamas. The 1920 census shows seven children. Probably the best known was Calvin, who was a prominent fishing guide. He and his brother, Henry, built many of the local structures. The recently relocated Everglades Park Ranger Station was a late 1920s built house for William Johnson. His son Cleveland was the Rock Harbor constable. Another of the older homes recently burned and was the Harold Russell home. Harold was the teacher of the aforementioned Rock Harbor coral-rock school.



The concentration of Bahamian families, and the resultant marriages, account for local kinship in many early Keys families. An extensive comprehensive genealogical reference would be needed to follow these pioneering family names. For example there are two Rock Harbor Albury families, two Tavernier Albury families, one Plantation Key Albury family and one Islamorada Albury family who are not related except possibly through later marriage.



Another family to leave Planter on southern Key Largo was Norman and Ellen (Bethel) Curry. This Curry family was from Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas. Born with only one arm, their son John worked for his father until 1931 when he became Key Largo's school bus driver, despite his disability. After the 1935 hurricane, John built a house from scrap lumber for himself at mile marker 100 and married Elizabeth Bethel. Later they added a grocery store and post office. Rock Harbor remained the name of the post office and the associated area until it was renamed Key Largo, effective June 1, 1952.





A note about the Bahamanian word "Cay" meaning island. The English spealking world pronounces the word "Cay" as we pronounce the word 'Key.' Therefore, this could have been the origin of calling small islands "Keys." There is an American court record of the "Libel of Dennis and Allen vs the snow St. Fermin alias Britanis" in 1744 used the word spelled as "Keys." See the Admiralty Papers, Vol. 2, 1743 -1744.



Rock Harbor is slowly vanishing from non-usuage. Many maps no longer place the Rock Harbor location.





HISTORY OF

TAVERNIER

By Jerry Wilkinson



 





With the advent of the railroad, the southern end of the island of Key Largo, composed then of the small communities of Planter and Lowesport, became known as "Tavernier." The name Tavernier is intriguing. Why this French name among all the Spanish names? Most charts before 1775 labeled Tavernier Key in Spanish as Cayo Tabona, Tobanas, Tabano, Tavona, Tabanoe, etc. which translates to "Horsefly," or "Gadsfly" in English. Spanish letters relating to the recovery of the 1733 wrecks relate that they had to relocate their land camp from Cayo Tavona because of the horse flies.



David Cutler Braddock did label it "Tabernero" on his chart of 1756. William de Brahm showed it as Stephen Island on his 1772 chart. George Gauld made a map for the British Admiralty in 1775 and labeled it Cayo Tabona and Kay Tavernier. It was the only Key to which he gave two names. Gauld stated in his survey notes: "KAY TAVERNIER (or Cayo Tabano as it is called by the Spaniards) is a small island about 2 miles from the Southwest of Cayo Largo, and 5 leagues N.E. from Old Matecumbe." Therefore, the place named Tavernier has been in print since 1775. A journal written aboard the ship Gallant captained by Eldridge Spicer reads ". . . went into the harbor of key Tabinier caught this day 87 fish. . . ."



Additional research of the name Tavernier reveals in Europe a famous French traveler and jewel trader named Jean Baptiste Tavernier (1605-1689) and a noted French cartographer Melchoir Tavernier in 1634. I have spoken with the French cultural attache and consul general in Miami and they advised me that the word Tavernier, which means tavern keeper, is the fourth or fifth most common name in France. They believe, if anything, it was another person or relative named Tavernier, or the island was named in honor of the very famous Jean Baptiste Tavernier. Love Dean wrote in May 1983, "Decades of mispronunciation changed 'Tabona' into 'Tavernier.'"



An Elixio de la Puente chart labeled present-day Tavernier Creek as "Boca de Guerrero", another 1773 chart "Boca de Herrera" and an 1860 U.S. Coastal Survey map has it Tavernier Creek. Only a few of the older maps include the names of creeks. The Islamorada library has a good collection of old charts and maps.



Darlene Brown of the Miami Herald wrote in her article, Planter: A Village Founded and Destroyed by Sea's Fury: "The famous pirate Jean Lafitte supposedly rested on Tavernier Key." Lafitte (1780-1826) was supposedly born in Bordeaux, France. Though his notoriety has a New Orleans setting, he, in all likelihood, sailed by the Keys to get to and from New Orleans. The problem with this theory is that LaFitte was born in 1780. This was five years after George Gault first charted the name of Tavernier on his charts.



Nevertheless, an 1849 U.S. Coast & Geodetic Survey chart made by F. H. Gerdes noted, ". . . that the bayou between Cayo Largo and Plantation Id. [sic] is named Tavernier Creek. . . ." Another maritime surveyor, A. D. Bache, used the name Tavernier for both the island and the creek on his U.S. Coast survey of 1860. Earlier maps had shown Tavernier Creek named as either Guerrero or Herrera Creek.



Dr. J. B. Holder wrote a series of articles for the Harper's New Monthly Magazine beginning in February, 1871 on his voyages in the 1860s and titled "Along the Florida Reef" on page 358: "Tavernier Creek is another of these open waterways, quite like a river-open runs produced by the tides." With this reference, it is safe to assume that the name Tavernier in the Keys was firmly established and used throughout the nation in the 1860s.



Moving to the twentieth century, the April 1905 blueline location sheets for the construction of the Florida East Coast Railway Extension "Approved by J. Meredith, Constructing Engineer," shows Tavernier Creek with the Planter community's Post Office to its north. Tavernier appeared on the F.E.C. Railway timetables in 1908. The Planter post office was discontinued in 1910 and the Tavernier post office opened on March 9, 1911. It was that era when the community of Tavernier was given its official name, probably by a combination of the railroad and post office, located near Tavernier Creek.



In early writings, the harbor between Tavernier Key and Key Largo is mentioned as a rendezvous area for Bahamian wreckers. It offered a haven from Atlantic gales and a good view of the Upper Keys reefs. In the early 1820s it is believed that slaves were gathered on Key Tavernier to be smuggled into the Bahamas by wreckers, but this has never been documented. It was used as a relay point for some escaped slaves enroute to the Bahamas. Tavernier was spelled Taviniere by the newspapers writing about the incident. Key West, Indian Key and Mystic, Connecticut fishing and wrecking fleets used it after 1821.



James Audubon passed through the Keys in 1832 and stayed at the Tropical Hotel on Indian Key. He visited twice, but it was too noisy for him to sleep. In one of his Three Floridian Episodes he wrote about a song mentioning Tavernier, sung by a German fiddler.





HISTORY OF        
                                                            
TAVERNIER

By Jerry Wilkinson




The passage of the 1862 Federal Homestead Act and the surveying of the Upper Keys in the early 1870s made a lot of land available for public ownership. In 1865, William and Robert Albury left the Bahamas for the mainland and settled near the site of Planter across the water gap from Tavernier Island. Records indicate that "In 1875, a storm-battered sailing ship reached Tavernier Harbor carrying Amos Lowe." The Sam Johnson family followed shortly to settle northeast of the Albury's. Therefore, the southern end of Key Largo was spotted with three sizable families: Alburys, Lowes and Johnsons all living in a community eventually named Planter. See photo to the right. The photo would be about 1895, maybe 1900.

There were no municipalities other than Key West; therefore, no finite city limit lines. Generally the post office name was the community name, but other names also existed. Most communities also has a center, even if it is just a gasoline station. Planter had the post office, a small store, and the community dock. The school and church was located more centrally of the population. Research reveals that the very southern oceanside tip of Key Largo was also known as "Lowe's Place or Lowe's Point." At the ocean end of Lowe Street would have been the Amos and Ada Lowe house on their June 1880 homestead. Son, Leonard, and grandson, Eugene, carried the Lowe tradition for decades.



The "Albury's Place," was a just north and in between Lowe's and Johnson's homesteads. John Wesley Johnson established the Planter post office December 31, 1891 - the Johnsons were pineapple farmers-; therefore, the entire area was generically known as Planter. A note in passing is that all of southern Key Largo was known as Planter until the railroad came and the Planter post office closed and the Tavernier post office opened - 1911. My oldest railroad timetable is dated January 4, 1910 but I assume that at the time of the 1908 railroad opening the station name was Tavernier, but mail continued to be addressed to Planter until 1911. Using the railroad as a time frame, an unmarked newspaper article in the Flagler museum dated April 6, 1907 states, "The trestle has been completed over Tavernier Creek, Snake Creek and Umbrella Creek, while a large force of men are now engaged in finishing the trestle over Wilson's Key Channel (today Whale Harbor), which will give a trestle connection with Upper Matecumbe Key." Printing and distribution of the railroad time tables began in 1908 and became widely circulated. Still it took time for the use of the name Tavernier to replace that of Planter.



The hurricane of 1909 hastened the demise of Planter. A pineapple blight also occurred and in October 1910 the Planter Post office closed, but Daniel Riley opened a Tavernier post office on March 9, 1911. Also alleged is when the railroad was completed to Key West in 1912, the importing of less expensive pineapples from Cuba destroyed the pineapple economy for Planter. With mail and primary transportation by way of the railroad, Planter's pier was no longer needed. When Planter's residents moved to Tavernier. Rodney Albury took his house from the Planter peninsular with him to Tavernier via a barge.



Other families moved in along with the pioneering Johnsons, Alburys and Lowes. One was Marvin Thompson and his brothers, who came up from Key West around 1919. Marvin went on to develop the Palma Sola subdivision at Planter and was appointed justice of the peace in 1927. Other examples were O. M. Woods, H. S. McKenzie, Cliff Carpenter and Harry Harris who moved in the late 1920s. Others like the Wilkinsons and Allens came in the 1930s followed by the Killingsworths in the 1940s.



The first real attempt to provide an Upper Keys community with the not-so-new invention of electricity was done by H. S. "Mac" McKenzie in Tavernier. At the age of 38 in 1928, Mac quit working as a Miami schoolteacher and moved with his wife Hazel to Tavernier. He became a partner with O. M. Woods in building petroleum storage tanks, a business he ended up owning. Woods was the Standard Oil agent, a position later Mac's. The Tavernier that McKenzies found were a couple of commercial buildings and about a dozen families. The 1928 business brochure listed: Tavernier Grocery and General Store, Capt. Rodney Albury and Capts. Leonard & Eugene Lowe. The "Capt" indicates a charter fishing guide. The railroad house in the above photo was moved to the Indian Key fill after the 1935 Hurricane for the Overseas Highway bridge tenders house.



The Planter community center to its east was by then almost a ghost town, as it's population had moved closer to the railroad in Tavernier. McKenzie was an enterprising person. Buying out the interests of Woods, he practically built the Tavernier that developed around the railroad depot. Along with the bulk storage tanks, he also built a gas station, an ice house, tavern store, drug store, grocery store, hardware store, auto repair garage, lumber company and theater. The theater was not a success, so it was converted to a hotel.



Behind his drug store, which is now the Copper Kettle Restaurant, he, in conjunction with Florida Power and Light (FP&L), put in a 50-horsepower diesel generator and installed electric lines to those homes who would choose his service. In the beginning, the hours of service changed depending on the season of the year, but a typical example of daily service was 5:00-10:00 a.m. and 5:00-10:00 p.m. On Saturdays, he would leave the electricity on until midnight -not enough hours for food refrigeration, so most homes used kerosene refrigerators. Life wasn't half-bad with the railroad, highway, post office, McKenzies' businesses and the Driftwood Inn on the oceanfront. In January 1938, Roger Albury wrote the Monroe County School Board that electric services were furnished only for three hours in the morning and five hours at night.



The Florida Keys Weekly News announced, "The Upper Keys Chamber of Commerce was officially organized Thursday, May 29,1947. Officers for the year were elected as follows: President, Mr. McKenzie; Vice President Alonzo Cothron; Secretary, F.A. Calhoun; and Treasurer, Mr. McRae. The first thing on their program is starting a summer Fishing Tournament for the Upper Keys."



The Rock Harbor school was closed in 1939 and Tavernier's was the only school site on Key Largo. It was located in a Works Progress Administration (WPA) constructed combination hurricane shelter and school built after the 1935 hurricane. After the school moved to Plantation Key in 1951, the building became the office for the Upper Keys' first full-time doctor and dentist. It is presently the Monroe County Health Department. In the 1940s, electric and water systems were installed for the Keys and Tavernier became the headquarters for these activities. Harry Harris and "Mac" McKenzie owned most of the property in the center of Tavernier.



Harry Harris moved to Tavernier in 1931 after visiting his sister, Mabel Harris, who owned the restaurant "Mabels' Place" on upper Key Largo. He began working for Mac and became the county commissioner in 1942 defeating Roland Craig. (T. Jenkins Curry elected in 1938 living on Oceana Drive, MM 103.5, was the first commissioner elected outside of Key West, Craig of Craig Key elected in 1940 and Harris in 1942.) Before Harris really got started, Uncle Sam drafted him in 1943 and the governor relieved him of office. Harris was discharged in 1944 and he returned to his county commissioner’s position. W.A. Parrish Sr. of Marathon defeated him in 1946, but Harris was returned to office in 1948, a position he held for the next 28 years. As the elected county mayor in 1970 he was probably the longest serving county commissioner in Keys history and was known as the road building commissioner. He is interred at Harry Harris Park. During World War II the Coast Guard guarded the shores and the Navy operated the water pipeline. The Coast Guard had a building behind Harry's Bar for its offices, barracks, messhall and communications. George Marshall built a Ground Observer Corps tower so the citizens at home could do their part.



Tavernier has the oldest volunteer fire department other than Key West. In 1934 local businessmen known as "The Boosters Club" obtained a fire trailer from Key West. It was pumped by hand and towed behind Eugene Lowe’s Model A Ford pick-up truck. After WW II Doug Killingsworth, a trained Homestead fireman, purchased the grocery store and built a firehouse along its north side. Tavernier, Islamorada and Key Largo struggled with hand-me-down military surplus fire fighting equipment. The three communities held fund raising events to build fire stations and in 1957 all three communities received state-of-the-art fire engines.



In the 1940s the Turner Funeral Home of Homestead provided ambulance service to the Upper Keys. Soon, Mr. Turner decided to leave an older ambulance in Tavernier provided the volunteer medics would man it. Charles Louis Pellicer was one of the drivers. Branham bought out Turner and continued to proved ambulances.



After the first Overseas Highway was opened in 1928 each community had one or more locations for guests to vacation. It is difficult to establish the exact opening date of the Driftwood Lodge, but it appears to be there on an aerial photograph taken in April 1935. We do not have written documentation until 1947 when Raymond and Anne Maloney were managers. From the Florida Keys Weekly News we read in the June 7, 1947 edition, "Mr. and Mrs. Ray Maloney are now operating the Driftwood Hotel for the summer season. The dining room is now open, and sea foods and Key Lime pie are being served. Mr. Adrian Rollini, the owner, will be down to meet the public on or about Nov. 1st."



Adrian Rollini was an international famous jazz musician and just how Rollini came about owning the Driftwood is not understood. Rollini was a child projedy and played almost all instruments; however, better know for the bass saxophone with "California Ramblers" and the xylophone everywhere. Because of his notoriety seaplanes occasionally bought his guests to the pier. He died in 1956 and the Driftwood slowly deteriorated until Hurricane Donna finished it off in 1960. It was on the right side (south) of Sunrise on the Atlantic and farther south than the image below.



Also from the Florida Keys Weekly News we learn that the Upper Keys Chamber of Commerce was organized on May 29, 1947. The president was H. S. McKenzie, vice-president was Alonzo Cothron, secretary was F. A. Calhoun and treasurer was Mr. McRae.



As a mid-1900s indication of population density, we have a 1951 telephone directory. It is titled Marathon, Key Largo and Matecumbe, Fla. There are three 6 X 9-inch pages for the Upper Keys. The totals of private and business phone listings are: Long Key 2, Craig 2, Lower Matecumbe Key 4, Islamorada 87, Snake Creek 2, Windley Key 1, Plantation Key 6, Tavernier 83, Rock Harbor 26, Key Largo 15 and Garden Cove 1. Of course, not every family and business had a telephone.



In the late 1950s, Joe Burton dredged the old water front of Planter into the Burton Yacht Basin. Docks were constructed and royal palms were planted. A small restaurant at water's edge was operated by John the Dutchman. Hurricane Donna in 1960 destroyed the marina.



In 1983, the Old Tavernier Town Association identified 59 structures on 75.8 acres for a proposed historic district in the National Register for Historic Places. The oldest house was the Rodney Albury house, which he had taken apart and moved by boat from Planter in 1919. This group was instrumental in preserving the 1928 Merlin Albury house and the 1936 Methodist Church building. Florida rejected the National Register proposal.



Over protests from local citizens and a lawsuit, in 1988 US Homes Incorporated began construction of Ocean Pointe condos that wiped the last traces of Planter from the face of the earth. Old Tavernier struggles successfully to retain its legacy.



Tavernier prospered through time having promoters such as the McKenzie Enterprises, the volunteer Fire and Ambulance, the Electric Co-op, the Aqueduct Authority, Harry Harris Park, County Commissioner Harry Harris, Tavernier Towne and many others. With the recent addition of Mariners Hospital it is currently a thriving and compact community, fully aware of her own colorful history. An abandoned section of county road was approved as a county historical land mark for Planter, but no funds. All that remains of original community center of Planter is a cluster of date palms on the side of the county road. In 1999, the formation of the Tavernier Community Association (TCA) began.