{"id":70806,"date":"2019-09-27T17:28:04","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T21:28:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/?p=70806"},"modified":"2025-08-20T15:35:13","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:35:13","slug":"key-wrecked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/","title":{"rendered":"Key Wrecked"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Sea
Little Palm Island \u2014 Florida Keys<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Florida Keys of the 1800s were nothing like they are today. Before tourism dominated, a few adventurous professions made Key West one of Florida\u2019s most booming industrial cities.<\/em><\/h4>\n

If you hate Margaritaville<\/em> for its kitschy depiction of tropical melodrama, blame Jimmy Buffett. Jimmy Buffett, then, can blame Key West for giving him the inspiration, and Key West can turn right back and blame him for the fact that instead of a rich, fascinating history, their island now conjures images of tourists nibbling on sponge cake.<\/p>\n

Truthfully, it\u2019s not Buffett\u2019s fault. Key West underwent a thorough transformation into a tourist paradise some 50 years earlier. In his own version of Margaritaville<\/em>, a 1935 Esquire<\/a><\/em> article, Ernest Hemingway was already observing the same pervasive crowds, lamenting that his house’s address had just been added to a tourist brochure.<\/p>\n

It may seem inevitable now, but it wasn\u2019t always this way. Before Key West revitalized and transformed its image into an idyllic tropical destination, it was an industrial maritime center, a picture of thriving 19th-century industry. Today, that picture has largely faded from history.<\/p>\n

Why? Some people claim that there’s a woman to blame<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just kidding.<\/p>\n

Among the industries that made 19th-century Key West an economic force was a strange practice called wrecking. Not wrecking as you may have heard of it today, as in diving to explore long-sunken ships, but a different idea entirely. This type of wrecking rose out of the dangerous but conveniently located waters of the Florida Keys.<\/p>\n

\"Wreckers\"
A Florida Keys wrecker from Harper’s New Monthly Magazine in 1858\/1859 and a drawing of wreckers unloading cargo from 1911 (State Archives of Florida).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Art of Wrecking<\/h3>\n

Those waters were full of storms, difficult currents, and one of the largest coral reefs in the world, as historian William C. Barnett explains in his fascinating essay<\/a>, \u201cInventing the Conch Republic.\u201d These dangers meant merchant vessels would crash their boats on the reefs so frequently an entire industry could grow out of their misfortune.<\/p>\n

Peaking from the 1820s to just after the Civil War, most \u201cwreckers\u201d would go about their day jobs \u2014 perhaps fishing for turtles or sponges \u2014 until word reached them that a ship captain\u2019s day was ruined. Arriving on the scene, these wreckers would provide their assistance in exchange for a share of the valuable cargo.<\/p>\n

A quick word on those day jobs. The people of the 19th century were downright bloodthirsty<\/a> for turtle, gulping down turtle soup by the shell-full. In much of America, people ate snapping turtle or terrapin, but the Florida Keys were famous for green sea turtles. In New York or Europe, they were marketed for the wealthy, or as one newspaper put it<\/a>, for \u201cconfirmed epicures.\u201d On the other end of the menu, William Tecumseh Sherman wrote in his autobiography<\/a> that \u201cthey are so cheap and common that the soldiers regard it as an imposition when compelled to eat green turtle steaks…\u201d Like wrecking, this bounty wouldn’t last forever.<\/p>\n

\"Sea
Fishermen with their catch of turtles in 1900.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But back to the wrecks.<\/p>\n

Once moored on the reef, damaged or sinking with a hold full of valuable goods, a ship\u2019s captains had little choice but to accept the help of the wrecking vessels swarming around him, who would then save the crew and cargo and, if all wasn\u2019t lost, bring the boat to port for repairs.<\/p>\n

Not that boat captains would always want to accept the wreckers\u2019 help, as author John Viele explains in his informative book<\/a>, The Wreckers<\/em>. For one, they were largely seen as morally compromised, almost like pirates, making their living off the bad luck of sailors. \u201cTrue, their business does grow out of the misfortune of their fellow men,\u201d rebutted the New York Times in 1855, \u201cbut so does the healing art, and the physician is not more welcome to the sick man, than the wrecker to the tempest-tossed mariner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"USS
According to author John Viele, an anti-piracy ship, the USS Alligator, wrecked itself beyond repair on what’s now known as Alligator Reef.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Whether they\u2019re pirates or physicians, if you could manage to dislodge your boat from the reef yourself, you\u2019d do it. Because when you accepted the assistance of a wrecker, you accepted their fees \u2014 and a federal judge waited at court in Key West to adjudicate the inevitable disputes.<\/p>\n

As you already know, the golden age of wrecking wouldn\u2019t last forever. As Barnett argues, in many ways the economy of Key West depended on inefficiencies that, looking back, seem to us almost outrageously solvable. Today, we see the same thing: complex new technology \u2014 like robotics \u2014 destroying once crucial industries. In the 19th century, the part of robotics was played by lighthouses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wish them d\u2014d lights was sunk below the sea,\u201d one wrecker told Hunt\u2019s Merchants\u2019 Magazine in 1852, the ridiculous antiqueness of the situation only underscored by the unnecessary censorship.<\/p>\n

\"Map
A map of Florida in 1835 and the Alligator Reef lighthouse, first operational in 1873.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turtles and Sponges<\/h3>\n

And yet, it\u2019s as obvious a 19th-century parallel as you\u2019ll find to one of the modern era\u2019s most pressing contemporary issues. What do you do when technology makes an industry obsolete? Between the new lighthouses, steamboats, and a long-awaited charting of the reefs, wrecks dwindled until wrecking itself dwindled from memory.<\/p>\n

Briefly, a boom in turtle and sponge fishing filled the void left by wrecking. Sponging especially seemed the savior. After a rich area of sponge bed was found in \u201cthe remote back country of the Florida Keys<\/a>,\u201d the sponge industry began to replace the fading wreckers as thousands of dollars poured in from sponges exported north from Key West.<\/p>\n

But as the industry became more lucrative and enterprising fishermen caught on to new, more efficient technology, including diving hoses and lead boots, the sponges in the Keys were nearly wiped out. The same is true for the population of sea turtles, which couldn\u2019t survive in the face of the demand and efficiency of the turtle canneries.<\/p>\n

All three of these industries depended on inefficiencies to prolong their lifespan. Once the march of modern progress interceded, the ships sailed safely, the turtles disappeared, and demand for sponges \u2014 however many remained \u2014 was further doomed by a switch to synthetics.<\/p>\n

\"Sponges\"
Workers inspecting sponges in 1935 (Library of Congress).<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Key West Today<\/h3>\n

And that\u2019s where Hemingway comes in, our proto-Buffett who discovered a fact that’s still true. Key West doesn’t feel anything like the rest of the United States. The island hadn\u2019t been able to compete with the modernization in the rest of the country but, as Barnett put it, outsiders \u201cseeking an escape from bustling cities\u201d saw this as one of the island\u2019s greatest appeals.<\/p>\n

Nearly a hundred years after the close of Key West\u2019s wrecking court, the Keys are booming again, to the tune<\/a> of a $2.7 billion economy. Among the islands, more than half of of all jobs come from tourism. But now the Keys are facing their next challenge.<\/p>\n

In what’s become a familiar story<\/a> around the world, the reefs that once endangered ships are now endangered themselves by climate change. In a report<\/a> from just this September, the decline of the reef was described by one scientist as \u201csad and heartbreaking,\u201d while around the same time scientists at the Florida Aquarium sparked hope of restoration by proving<\/a> they could foster new coral in a lab.<\/p>\n

Over the summer, Florida senators sponsored<\/a> a $160 million bill to restore the reefs.<\/p>\n

Let’s hope Key West doesn\u2019t have to reinvent itself again.<\/p>\n

\"Hemingway
America’s two greatest artists, Ernest Hemingway and Jimmy Buffett, both left their mark on Key West.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Visiting The Keys<\/h3>\n

History\u2019s all over Key West, from Hemingway\u2019s home to the writers\u2019 compound that hosted Richard Wilbur and Ralph Ellison. And while all the Keys boast a dreamscape of sport fishing, beach hanging, and everything else the sea provides, if you\u2019re interested in exploring the Keys\u2019 far-away maritime past, the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum<\/a> in Key West stands out. Named for the 20th-century treasure hunter who found one of the most lucrative shipwrecks in Keys history, the museum explores everything from the history of Florida\u2019s shipwrecks to its role in the slave trade, displaying plenty of Fisher\u2019s rediscovered treasure.<\/p>\n[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

<\/div>\n

Little Palm Island Resort & Spa<\/a><\/h2>\n
Little Torch Key, FL, USA<\/h5>\n

\"Little<\/a><\/p>\n

This four-acre private-island resort is home to a mere 30 suites, and a couple of rules \u2014 no guests under 18, no audible cell phones \u2014 serve to keep the atmosphere properly tranquil. The suites at Little Palm Island are divided among a number of thatched-roof bungalows, some more secluded than others, but all more than private enough. The look is thoroughly classic, in the British West Indies mode, while the comforts are delightfully low-tech.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n

Isla Bella Beach Resort<\/a><\/h2>\n
Marathon, FL, USA<\/h5>\n

\"Isla<\/a><\/p>\n

There are a multitude of islands here at the end of South Florida, and that means there are a multitude of travel experiences to be had. Typically that doesn\u2019t mean a self-contained 24-acre luxury-resort experience, complete with five pools, a sandy beach, and nearly 200 suites. But that\u2019s exactly the promise of Isla Bella Beach Resort, midway between Key Largo and Key West, near the east end of the Seven Mile Bridge.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View Hotel” shape=”round” color=”black” size=”lg” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tablethotels.com%2Fen%2Fflorida-keys-hotels%2Fisla-bella-beach-resort”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

<\/div>\n

Southernmost Beach Resort<\/a><\/h2>\n
Key West, FL, USA<\/h5>\n

\"Southernmost<\/a><\/p>\n

With a prime location between the turquoise sea and Key West\u2019s lively Old Town, Southernmost Beach Resort, named for its location at the southernmost point of the continental United States, has been a staple on the island\u2019s hotel scene since it opened in the 1950s. But a recent style overhaul, plus the acquisition of a pair of restored Victorian houses next door \u2014 welcome additions to the hotel\u2019s small collection of adults-only guesthouses \u2014 has breathed new life into the place. <\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View Hotel” shape=”round” color=”black” size=”lg” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tablethotels.com%2Fen%2Fflorida-keys-hotels%2Fsouthernmost-beach-resort”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

<\/div>\n

The Perry Hotel Key West<\/a><\/h2>\n
Key West, FL, USA<\/h5>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

There\u2019s not much new happening on Key West proper, mostly because the island\u2019s most promising real estate rarely changes hands. But if you incorporate nearby Stock Island you\u2019ll find something that\u2019s not just new, but impressively well-crafted as well. The Perry Hotel was recognized right out of the gate as one of Architectural Digest\u2019s best-designed new hotels, and while they\u2019re certainly not wrong about that, the architecture and design are only part of what makes the Perry special.<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_btn title=”View Hotel” shape=”round” color=”black” size=”lg” align=”center” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tablethotels.com%2Fen%2Fflorida-keys-hotels%2Fthe-perry-hotel-key-west”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]\n

<\/div>\n

The Marquesa Hotel<\/a><\/h2>\n
Key West, FL, USA<\/h5>\n

\"The<\/a><\/p>\n

The Marquesa is one block off bustling Duval Street in Key West’s Old Town, just close enough to be convenient, and far enough to serve as a sanctuary from the gift shops and corny tourist traps of the main drag. This block belongs to a different era, and the hotel itself is an assembly of four separate buildings, varying from the rustic charm of the original 1884 conch house to the sleeker (yet still elegant) modern additions.<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Florida Keys of the 19th century were nothing like they are today. Before tourism dominated Key West, several adventurous professions made it one of Florida\u2019s most booming industrial cities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":104775,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3594],"tags":[3491,3391,3440,3595],"thb-sponsors":[],"class_list":["post-70806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-travel-history","tag-florida","tag-florida-keys","tag-key-west","tag-travel-history"],"acf":{"new_subtitle":"The Florida Keys You Never Knew","property_id":[{"id":"7329"},{"id":"9131"},{"id":"13132"},{"id":"8803"},{"id":"3841"}]},"yoast_head":"\nThe Florida Keys You Never Knew \u2014 The Agenda by Tablet Hotels<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Florida Keys You Never Knew \u2014 The Agenda by Tablet Hotels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Florida Keys of the 19th century were nothing like they are today. Before tourism dominated Key West, several adventurous professions made it one of Florida\u2019s most booming industrial cities.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tablet Hotels | The Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/tablethotels\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-09-27T21:28:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-08-20T19:35:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/LittlePalm.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Mitchell Friedman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@tablethotels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@tablethotels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Mitchell Friedman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"11 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Mitchell Friedman\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/abb5312ebc20aa7c118d94648b02d8ac\"},\"headline\":\"Key Wrecked\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-27T21:28:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-20T19:35:13+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/\"},\"wordCount\":2076,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/LittlePalm.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Florida\",\"Florida Keys\",\"Key West\",\"Travel History\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Travel History\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/\",\"name\":\"The Florida Keys You Never Knew \u2014 The Agenda by Tablet Hotels\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/LittlePalm.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-09-27T21:28:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-08-20T19:35:13+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/LittlePalm.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/LittlePalm.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1920},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/2019\/09\/key-wrecked\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Key Wrecked\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magazine.tablethotels.com\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Tablet Hotels | The Magazine\",\"description\":\"Bold opinions. 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