Marathon

46 days to Key West.

Compared to many of the other islands in the upper and middle Keys, the early history of Marathon is relatively boring.  The main business district of Marathon sits on Key Vaca, where you will arrive after crossing the Vaca Cut.  No one is entirely sure, but the most popular theory on the name Key Vaca comes from the Spanish vaca or vacas, meaning cow or cows.  There is no evidence of there ever having been cows here, so the general consensus is that this refers to manatees or "sea cows" common in the area.

There were several early attempts at settlement in the early 19th century, around the time Key West and Indian Key were settled, but by the mid-19th century all indications are that the settlers, from New England and the Bahamas, had abandoned the area.  It's quite possible that fear of Indian raids like those on Indian Key drove the settlers away.

Regardless, the island sat mostly empty until the railroad arrived in 1905.  The south end of Key Vaca, which was joined by fill to Knight's Key, was the start of seven miles of open water, so the railroad actually terminated at Knight's Key when it was completed here in 1908 and remained that way until the completion of the Seven Mile Bridge in 1912.  I'll write a whole separate article about the Seven Mile Bridge, the Knight's Key Dock, and Pigeon Key later, but the growth of Marathon really started when Knight's Key was the terminus of the railroad.

One of the reasons Flagler undertook the Overseas Railroad project was to provide deepwater rail access for shipping to and from Cuba and the Caribbean.  During the Spanish-American war, shipments of equipment, troops and supplies to Cuba came from Tampa, some 250 miles to the north.  Flagler envisioned Key West as the logical alternative to shipping from Tampa, and the intermediate goal was Knight's Key.  For four years, from 1908 to 1912, regular train service from New York, via Miami and Homestead, served Knight's Key.  At Knight's Key, passengers and freight could connect to the Peninsular & Occidental Steamship line (also owned and operated by Flagler) for connection to Key West and on to Havana.

As with everywhere else Flagler went, it was only a matter of time until hotels, resorts, a post office and other development sprung up.  It was during the railroad construction that the settlement obtained the name "Marathon" - most likely a reference to the backbreaking pace at which construction went.

The biggest era of change for Marathon was the World War II period.  It was during the war that the military brought fresh water (via pipeline) and electricity to the Keys.  Marathon also got a Coast Guard Yard and an Army Air Corps strip that is now the Marathon Airport.  With power and water, Marathon thrived in the 1950's and the satellite communities of Key Colony Beach and Marathon Shores also sprung up in this period.  Much of the 50's era construction was destroyed by Hurricane Donna in 1960, triggering another round of development.

Marathon Today

Today all of Key Vaca is the main business district of Marathon, with the key word being "business".  It's six miles of four-lane divided highway from the Vaca Cut to the Seven Mile bridge.  And nearly all of it is lined with motels, gas stations, fast food and other businesses.  If you're spending some time in the Keys, Marathon is centrally located.  But make no mistake, Marathon is no a tourist town.  It *is* where you will find McDonald's, IHOP, K-mart, Burger King, Publix and a LOT of red lights and slow-moving traffic.

There are a few things here to see if you've got a little time.  Just past MM 50 is the turnoff on the Ocean Side for Sombrero Beach.  Sombrero is the only sandy beach in Marathon.  There is a well-maintained park there with picnic tables and pavilions too.

While you can't go out there, there is a causeway at MM 48 to Boot Key.  Boot Key is a very large undeveloped island just south of Key Vaca.  It is mostly privately owned, but there is also a government transmission facility there from which the U.S. government broadcasts Radio Marti to Cuba.

On the Oceanside at Boot Key Harbor is Burdine's restaurant - cheap food and beer and arguably some of the best burgers and fries to be had anywhere in the Keys.  The Seven Mile Grill at MM 47.5 on the Bay Side has good food too.

As you approach the Seven Mile Bridge, there are two interesting things to see here.  On the left (Bay Side) at MM 47 is the visitor's center for Pigeon Key.  If you're staying in Marathon, you should venture out to Pigeon Key.  If you're just passing through though, you can still check out the visitor's center, located in a restored Florida East Coast Railroad car.

Old Seven Mile Bridge.  The new bridge is visible on the left

Just before you get to the bridge, on the right hand side, is a parking lot where you can pull off to walk or bike the old Seven Mile Bridge.  Even if you don't plan to spend any time on the old bridge, it's worth at least checking out.  There is also a pathway that goes down underneath the bridges that you can walk along, close to the water.  If you do walk out on the old Seven Mile Bridge, pay close attention to the metal guardrails on the old bridge.  The guardrails on the old bridge are the original rails from Flagler's railroad.  When the highway replaced the railroad, the tracks were torn up, the road constructed on top of the railroad bed, and the actual rails reused as guardrails on the automobile bridge.