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- History
of
Conch
Key
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The
author
has
very
little
documented
information
of
Conch
Key
and
solicits
input
from
readers.
To
assist,
please
click
the
prepared
e-mail
tab
at
the
bottom
of
this
page.
The
first
mention
he
finds
of
the
use
of
the
name
Conch
Key
is
by
F.
W.
Gerdes
in
his
Reconnaissance
of
the
Florida
Reefs
and
All
the
Keys
in
1849.
His
quote
is
"The
first
islands
between
Duck
Key
and
Viper
Id.
[Long
Key]
are
named
Conch
Keys."
No
doubt
this
included
Walker
Key,
or
Little
Conch
Key
which
is
the
smaller
Key
farther
west.
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The
section
of
a
map
to
the
right
has
no
surveyor
name
and
is
of
the
Duck
Key
area
which
included
Conch
Keys.
As
one
can
see
it
is
Section
15
and
is
of
Township
65
South
and
Range
34
East.
The
larger
Key
is
Conch
Key,
the
subject
of
this
page.
The
government
survey
of
the
Duck
Key
area
by
Charles
F.
Smith
in
1874
does
not
include
the
Conch
Keys.
If
you
are
unfamiliar
with
this
area,
for
a
1966
nautical
map
(it
is
a
large
file),
please
Click
HERE,
then
the
Back
Arrow.
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Conch
Key
was
used
by
the
Florida
East
Coast
Railway
as
a
construction
camp
site;
however,
not
much
of
this
use
is
found.
In
1944,
Frank
M.
Coward,
an
adventurous
traveler,
purchased
the
island
of
about
5
acres
from
the
state
of
Florida
for
$11,000.
According
to
the
Key
West
Citizen
dated
July
19,
1944,
".
.
.
County
Tax
Assessor,
Claude
A.
Gandolfo,
said
this
morning
that
the
key,
that
is
the
real
estate
part
of
it,
has
never
been
on
the
assessor's
books
because
it
had
always
been
owned
by
Florida
since
it
attained
statehood
[1845],
but,
he
explained
that,
since
his
assuming
office,
he
had
levied
personal
taxes
against
the
pumphouse,
log
cabin
and
two
cottages
that
were
on
the
key,
but
had
been
unable
to
learn
to
whom
the
key
had
been
leased
by
the
state.
-
"The
log
cabin
burned
down
two
years
ago,
but
the
two
cottages
and
the
pumphouse
are
still
there.
The
latter
is
used
to
supply
water
and
electricity.
-
"Another
Key
was
sold
yesterday.
Trustees
of
the
dissolved
Anchor
Lodge
Corporation
conveyed
Ohio
Key
comprising
51.16
acres
to
...
for
$15,000.
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"Both
Conch
and
Ohio
keys
are
on
the
new
Overseas
Highway."
Some
interesting
Keys
history
are
contained
in
this
article.
The
so-called
log
cabin
was
not
the
typical
log
cabin
but
what
was
generally
referred
to
as
a
"tie
cabin."
The
tie
meaning
cross
ties
from
railroad
construction.
The
cross
ties
were
interlaced
together
to
build
as
large
of
a
structure
as
needed.
A
few
continue
to
exist
in
the
Lower
Keys.
Supposedly,
the
railroad
had
used
the
tie
cabin
for
a
multitude
of
purposes.
Later
the
State
Road
Department
when
building
the
second
Overseas
Highway
in
1938
used
the
structure
on
Conch
Key.
The
electricity
referred
to
had
just
been
installed
as
part
of
the
Florida
Keys
Electric
Cooperative.
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Coward
built
himself
a
house
which
he
used
as
a
home
and
a
place
to
build
his
dream-boat,
a
44-foot
ketch,
Don
Pancho.
It
was
a
combination
boat
yard,
marina
and
living
quarters.
When
the
boat
was
completed,
part
of
the
house
had
to
be
removed
for
the
launching.
Coward
died
in
1966
and
E.V.
Jones
purchased
the
house.
E.
V.
Jones
and
his
wife,
Ruth,
owned
the
Conch
Key
boat
yard
in
1954
and
died
in
1978.
Jones
was
the
organizer
of
the
Conch
Key
Volunteer
Fire
Department
and
Rescue
Corps.
Jones
also
had
organized
a
disaster
unit
under
the
Key
West
Red
Cross
chapter
which
served
the
island
well
after
Hurricane
Donna
in
1960.
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- There
were
few
residents
on
the
island
until
about
1952
which
was
around
the
time
many
of
the
Upper
Keys
had
a
burst
of
growth.
One
contributing
factor
was
the
opening
of
Coral
Shores
High
School,
the
first
Monroe
County
high
school
outside
of
Key
West.
It
is
said
that
some
of
the
first
residents
were
the
Liebys,
Jones,
Hunts,
Doolittles
and
Pearl
Jacobs,
a
niece
of
Coward,
yet
I
do
not
see
early
phone
numbers
listed
for
these
names.
We
must
remember
that
in
earlier
times
phones
were
not
a
necessity
and
considered
an
expensive
luxury.
Also,
some
did
not
have
telephone
lines
available,
but
one
could
always
pay
for
their
own
poles.
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From
my
1954
Southern
Bell
and
Telegraph
phone
book,
I
see
the
following
names
and
numbers:
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Hunt
Marine
Supply
2042
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Mac
&
Ann's
Fishing
Haven
2186
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McCarthy,
M.
J.
Capt.
2185
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Mitchell,
George
2047
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Tiny's
Cottages
2186
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Tiny's
Place
2041
The
Hunts,
Doolittles,
Phillips
and
the
Fire
Department
are
in
the
1964
phone
book.
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The
years
passed
comfortably
in
the
fishing
and
retirement
community
of
Conch
Key
and
many
passed
by
without
notice.
In
1997
part
of
Conch
Key
made
the
news
media.
A
few
years
earlier
the
Billy
Wagner
family
had
sold
the
property
of
Coral
Key
Village
Mobile
Home
Park.
This
was
composed
of
about
50
mobile
homes
and
about
100
residents.
The
new
owners
wished
to
develop
and
modernize
the
property
with
a
marina,
an
restaurant
and
about
30
townhouses
and
detached
houses.
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In
October
of
1997
the
mobile
home
residents
received
an
eviction
notice
effective
December
1998
so
the
new
project
could
go
forward.
Faced
with
no
place
to
go,
the
Home
Owners
Association
as
a
cooperative
offered
to
purchase
the
park.
Both
sides
faced
legal
problems,
one
was
that
the
property
zoning
was
not
zoned
for
either
use.
A
law
suit
ensued
and
the
cooperative
purchased
the
property
in
August
2001.
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We
began
this
page
with
Conch
Keys,
plural.
The
second
Key,
or
the
Key
to
the
southwest
and
totally
on
the
ocean,
is
known
as
Walker's
Key
by
many
and
is
discussed
on
another
web
page.
-
This
page
is
ended
with
another
photo
of
the
proud
Conch
Key
Volunteer
Fire
Department.
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