Islamorada - The Minor Islands

While Islamorada consists primarily of Upper Matecumbe and Lower Matecumbe Keys, several other minor and outlying islands make up the community, and some of the most stunning events in the history of the Keys happened here.

Islamorada's minor islands and channels

Leaving Upper Matecumbe Key, you will cross the Tea Table Relief (MM 79.5, bridge #6 on your way down).  During the days of railroad construction, Henry Flagler's engineers not only built rails and bridges, but they also spent a great deal of time constructing land as well.  In fact, long before the railroad was ultimately destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, other hurricanes severely damaged or destroyed other sections of the railroad requiring repair or reconstruction.  Engineers had done so much filling of the gaps between the islands that oftentimes the water had no place to go around the islands and had nowhere to go but OVER the islands.

The section between Upper and Lower Matecumbe Keys was like this.  The land that exists there today was "fill" that was dredged up and dropped down to support the railroad, and, later, the highway.  The first piece of land here is connected to Tea Table Key, where there is a small public beach and a private home.  Next, you'll cross the Tea Table Channel (MM 79, bridge #7) to Indian Key Fill, barely wide enough for the road.  At mile marker 78, you'll cross the Indian Key Channel (bridge #8) to another small fill.

As you cross the Indian Key Channel, glance to your left (Ocean Side) and you will see Indian Key.  To your right, you'll see Lignumvitae Key.  Finally, at MM 77.5, you will cross the Lignumvitae Channel (bridge #9) to Lower Matecumbe Key.

While there is little to see or do on the road here, the history of this area is worth noting.

Indian Key

Despite the fact that neither the railroad nor the road ever touched Indian Key, its early history is some of the most important in the Upper Keys.  The first American settlers on Indian Key arrived in the mid-1820's, and by 1830 the island was home to around 50 people and two general stores.

In the early 1820's, John Jacob Housman of Staten Island, NY, stole his father's boat and set sail for the Caribbean.  He managed to shipwreck off of Key West and he and his boat were salvaged by Key West wreckers.  Wreckers would rescue boats and their cargoes wrecked on the reef for a portion of the goods carried aboard and was an enormous industry in Key West at the time, making Key West one of the richest cities in the country.

Housman became disenchanted with the wrecking operations and admiralty courts in Key West and soon set up shop on Indian Key, where he envisioned setting up his own port, admiralty court and customs house.  He bought several homes, a store and a bowling alley on Indian Key and set about building his empire.  As Indian Key grew and prospered, it became a popular stop-off point for vessels bound for Key West.  Around the same time, in 1836, Monroe County split into two, with the northern and eastern half becoming Dade County.  While Key West remained the seat of Monroe County, Housman petitioned for, and eventually won, the seat of Dade County on Indian Key. 

Also around the same time, the Second Seminole War was in full swing.  The Seminoles had won several major battles in and around Fort Lauderdale and Cape Florida in 1836.  By 1837 they were attacking in Key Largo.  Housman organized a militia of 30 settlers and a handful of slaves to defend Indian Key from attack.

Meanwhile, in 1838, botanist Dr. Henry Perrine moved, with his family, from Mexico to Indian Key.  Dr. Perrine knew of the Indian unrest, but moved here anyway and set up a business growing tropical plants.  Many of the plants here and on nearb Lignumvitae Key, to this day, are a result of Dr. Perrine's operations here.

In March 1840, Housman submitted a proposal to the Florida government to capture or kill all of the Indians in South Florida.  For this, he would charge $200 per head.  The government never acted on the proposal and it's not quite clear whether the proposal had anything to do with what happened next.

On the night of August 7, 1840, Indians from mainland Florida rowed across to Upper Matecumbe Key, then in the middle of the night attacked Indian Key.  Housman and his wife escaped to Key West.  Dr. Perrine successfully hid his family, but was himself killed by Indians.  6 other residents were killed in the attack and the entire island was burned.

Housman would die the following year in Key West.  The Navy moved into Indian Key from nearby Tea Table Key.  For the next sixty years the island would change hands from the Navy to the Army to several landholders and would maintain a population of 50-60.  The Army used it as a base of operations to construct the Alligator Reef lighthouse.  Henry Flagler acquired it in 1909 and used it as a base of operations to construct the Indian Key Fill (see map above), and then located his Central Supply operation on the newly built fill.  By 1913, the island was essentially abandoned and remained that way until 1971 when it was converted to a state park.

Today, the state runs launches out to the island daily, or you can visit the island by renting a boat.  Little remains of the extensive development on the island from the 1830's - a few foundations and some graves.  Thousands of people roar by every day, just 2000 feet away on US-1 with no idea what happened here 170 years ago.