The Story of Pigeon Key


We followed up attendance at the Pigeon Key Arts Festival with a boat ride to Pigeon Key. Pedestrian and bicycle access to the key are unavailable because the ramp off the Seven Mile Bridge is so deteriorated it is unsafe. Restoration work, funded in part by the Arts Festival and other fund raisers and, hopefully supplemented by a pending state grant, is to be completed by 2017. 

The boat was way better than walking or riding the bridge and ramp. Our tour guide gave us a fairly detailed understanding of the history of railroad construction project and the role Pigeon Key played as a housing location for railroad work crews. Railroad construction project managers liked the idea of housing their work crews on an island -- ingress and egress and access to recreation, including alcohol, could be easily limited.


Also a part of the tour was an oral biography of Flagler who was the mind and money behind the railroad. It finished in an all-out effort to complete the project before he died. Flagler was a visionary and his work converting this particular vision into reality was a significant accomplishment with far-reaching implications for south Florida, especially the Keys.

For me, the more important history was that of the workers who actually built the railroad was more interesting -- without them, Flagler's railroad would have remained a vision. Too often, the muscle, sweat, and tears of thousands of workers build these extraordinary structures we see around us and upon which we depend -- from the railroad through the Keys to the skyscrapers of New York to the Golden Gate Bridge -- simply soak into the earth, disappear and are forgotten. 

I've excerpted sections from the Flagler Centennial website (http://www.flaglerkeys100.com/marathon) to provide further detail on the railroad, Marathon and Pigeon Key.

Once construction was completed as far as what was to be known as Marathon, Marathon became the general headquarters for the remaining construction to Key West. The starting point was the Seven Mile Bridge. Serious construction started in early 1909. It required three years to complete.
Centered on Vaca Key, Marathon got its name from workers constructing the monumental Oversea Railway from mainland Florida throughout the Keys in the early 1900s. Working night and day to meet the grueling construction schedule, crews reputedly said, “This is getting to be a real Marathon.”  (A FWIW anecdote, to be sure.)

The overall bridge was sometimes referred to as the Flagler Viaduct. At that time it was not known as the Seven Mile Bridge, a name coined later.

What is today called the Seven Mile Bridge was actually composed of the Knight’s Key, Pigeon Key, Moser Channel, Pacet Channel bridges. It crosses the waters south of Vaca Key and is one of the longest segmental bridges in the world. 

The Old Seven Mile Bridge running parallel to the modern span was the jewel of the Oversea Railway and a turn-of-the-century technological marvel that took four years to construct.


~~~~ Pigeon Key, following photos ~~~~











Boat landing at Pigeon Key
Pinfish at Pigeon Key Dock






On board the boat to Pigeon Key. Billy, Betty, me and Bob, Jr.


These houses were reserved for managers and engineers and their families
. The workers slept in tents.



And, at the end of the historic bridge, a 2.1-mile span, is a tiny island with lots of history,

Beneath what is now called the Old Seven Mile Bridge, lies the historical treasure known as Pigeon Key. In the early 1900s, the five-acre island served as a base camp for workers during construction of the original Seven Mile Bridge. 

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, today it houses century-old buildings and a museum chronicling the construction of the Key West Extension, commonly called the Oversea Railway because its track stretched more than 100 miles out into open water.



More than 400 workers lived in the railroad village on Pigeon Key, which had a post office, commissary and one-room school, during the Seven Mile Bridge’s construction from 1908 to 1912. Following its completion, maintenance crews continued living on the island.

Children on Pigeon Key waving at the train.
A hurricane destroyed the railway in 1935, and a state highway was built to replace it. Pigeon Key then became headquarters to the Florida Road and Toll Bridge District. Starting in 1968, for two decades the island served as an environmental field station for international researchers studying tropical and subtropical marine and island ecologies with the University of Miami.

In 1993, the not-for-profit Pigeon Key Foundation assumed stewardship of the island and began restoration efforts. The railroad museum, located in one of the original 1909 buildings, features exhibits including maps, historic photos, models and a picture postcard collection of the unique line over water.

A Walk in Key West

With my visit to the Key 40 years ago a dim memory, I looked forward to another visit -- time to get re-acquainted. A cool and windy day, but no cruise ships docked so few crowds expected.

The City is so dense with sights and shops and neighborhoods to stroll, the day was over before we even put a dent in our list of places we HAD to visit. That's OK, it means we'll have to go back another day.



First stop was Sloppy Joe's. It was the middle of "Put-in-Bay Days" at the bar which was a happy coincidence for Brother Bob as he lived on Middle Bass Island in Ohio for a time and is well acquainted with Put-in Bay. Bob Gatewood provided live entertainment and we stayed for his set. Nice way to start the day.

Bob and Betty


Bob Gatewood -- A flash from Put-in-Bay all the way south in the Florida Keys.



Great lobster rolls. Very small place with a very big reputation for the best lobster roll in Key West. It was the only one I had so I can't vouch for that but can say it was excellent. Eat at small counter inside or small picnic table outside - family style. That means you sit with people you've never seen before and are unlikely to see again.


I'm betting the stickers are pretty much what is holding this truck together.


Lots of roosters walking around Key West. Some real beauties. This one was scavanging at the lobster roll place.
Another Key West icon, the mermaid. It may actually be a Keys icon as they are ubiquitous.


Now you know why the square is named Mallory.

Mallory Square on a cool and windy day. We didn't stay for the sunset celebration because of the weather. Well, being ready to get off our feet could have been part of the reason. : - )

Out and About in Marathon

The annual Pigeon Key Arts Festival was held the first weekend we were here. Bob, Jr., Sue and I made a visit. At one of the booths I met a woman who knew Billy's family from the days of the Rocky River Flower Shop when she lived across the street. Gregarious Bob had an extended conversation with her. Meantime, I found things to buy, despite my resolve not to do that!

The artist Wyland was there and I was surprised at how young he still looked. He is known for his large murals, many painted on the sides of buildings, depicting marine life. I remember seeing him in Hawaii over twenty years ago and, apart from more tattoos, he hasn't changed much since then. Learn more at http://www.wyland.com.




Next it was off to get some fresh seafood -- there's no dearth of fish markets in Marathon!

Snow crab claws -- harvested by pulling off the one large claw and returning the crab to the ocean where it will regenerate the claw.
Don't know why Bob insisted on being the mermaid?!





A Walk in the National Key Deer Refuge

Bob the Third, Sue, Billy and I drove down to Big Pine Key to visit the National Key Deer Refuge. We didn't see any Key Deer -- no surprise since it was mid-day -- but we learned a lot about their environment and Keys ecology in general.

The Overseas Highway has lower speed limits through this area and they are strictly enforced.

Written comments won't be necessary for this post -- here are the trail side posters that provide lots of information on the refuge and its inhabitants and their environment.


















Voyage to the Atlantic

Captain Billy, Elvis, and I made our first voyage to the open Atlantic using the inflatable Zodiac lent to us by our neighbors, the Kelly...