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- History
of
Craig
Key
|
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Craig,
Fla.,
later
renamed
as
Craig
Key,
was
once
known
as
Camp
Panama
according
to
the
Miami
Daily
News.
In
the
January
28,
1931
edition
it
featured
a
short
article
titled
“Camp
Panama
Offers
Excellent
Angling.
.
.
.
Located
90
miles
below
Miami,
about
two
miles
below
the
ferry
landing
on
the
lower
Matecumbe,
Camp
Panama
is
right
in
the
very
best
key
fishing
grounds.
.
.
.”
The
newspaper
article
concluded
“.
.
.
|
 |
| For
the
convenience
of
visitors
to
Miami
the
camp
maintains
an
office
at
409
City
National
Building
in
charge
of
R.
W.
Craig.”
From
this
article
we
cannot
conclude
that
R.
W.
Craig
owned
Camp
Panama,
but
at
the
least
he
was
associated
with
it.
There
was
an
accompanying
advertisement
stating,
"Rates
$12.50
to
$15:00
per
day,
which
includes
transportation
from
Miami
and
return,
meals,
lodging,
boat,
all
fishing
tackle
and
guide.
By
Reservation
Only.
Phone
Miami
3-1404."
Since
at
that
time
there
was
not
a
highway
to
Craig,
boat
transportation
would
take
too
long
for
daily
rates,
I
conclude
that
at
a
minimum
a
railroad
"flag
stop"
was
established.
I
do
not
have
copies
of
all
the
FEC
railway
time
tables,
but
in
my
December
1932
time
table
a
regular
stop
had
been
established
at
Craig,
and
probably
earlier
since
a
post
office
was
established
in
October
1932. |
The
original
Craig
was
not
the
two
small
islands
on
the
bayside
that
are
there
now
at
about
MM
74.
These
two
islands
came
along
later
when
more
space
was
needed.
The
island
to
the
southwest
(south)
was
dredged
and
filled
in
about
1955
by
local
contractor,
Alonzo
Cothron.
The
other
island
to
the
northeast
(north)
was
made
by
Floyd
Lambert
of
Marathon
some
time
later.
The
original
"Craig
Key"
was
a
wide
place
on
the
railroad
right-of-way
which
after
the
1935
Hurricane
became
the
Overseas
Highway;
therefore,
was
like
the
other
two
islands,
a
man-made
Key
filled
by
Henry
Flagler.
It
was
surrounded
by
water
on
the
east
by
Channel
2
and
the
Atlantic
Ocean
and
on
the
west
by
Channel
5
and
Florida
Bay.
|
 |
| Craig's
cottages,
hotels
and
restaurants
were
on
the
ocean
side
and
the
store-post
office,
gas
station
and
docks
were
on
the
bayside.
Deep
water
access
was
by
way
of
the
Channel
Five
Bridge
and
a
channel
through
the
flats
to/from
the
bay.
Therefore,
the
early
history
of
Craig
began
in
the
early
1900s
with
the
construction
of
the
railroad
and
Roland
Craig
gave
it
the
name
when
he
leased
it
from
the
FEC
Railway
in
the
early
1930s. |
|
|
For
the
reason
that
this
strip
of
filled
right-of-way
was
wide
enough
for
the
community
of
Craig
to
develop,
we
need
to
review
a
brief
part
of
railroad
construction
history.
This
is
the
part
of
the
Key
West
Extension
construction
normally
forgotten
in
most
articles.
Most
assume
once
Flagler
rode
to
Key
West
on
December
22,
1912
all
construction
was
completed.
In
fact
there
were
four
additional
years
of
construction
to
be
done.
To
begin
with,
the
open
water
to
be
crossed
from
Lower
Matecumbe
Key
to
Long
Key
was
4.83
miles
-
the
second
longest
water
expanse
to
the
crossed
enroute
to
Key
West.
The
difference
between
this
expanse
of
water
and
the
7-Mile
Bridge
area
was
this
expanse
was
much
shallower,
meaning
that
it
could
be
filled.
However,
one
portion
was
much
too
deep
to
be
filled
(Channel
5)
and
the
other
(Channel
2)
was
deemed
necessary
to
be
left
open
to
exchange
tidal
waters
between
the
ocean
and
the
bay.
One
would
think
that
there
would
be
channels
1,
3
and
4,
but
I
know
of
no
reason
for
this
numbering.
Much
of
the
route
that
Flagler
traveled
in
December
1912
was
temporary
construction
meaning
that
after
the
opening
ceremonies
in
Key
West,
William
Krome
and
his
construction
crews
had
to
return
to
the
Upper
Keys
to
build
two
more
concrete
viaduct
bridges
and
one
drawbridge
without
interrupting
daily
operation
of
the
trains
at
this
location.
The
original
wooden
trestles
were
not
strong
enough
for
daily
operation
of
large
locomotives
pulling
many
cars.
There
were
many
other
locations
to
be
made
pernanent.
Few
realize
that
for
a
while
there
were
two
parallel
sets
of
tracks
between
most
of
the
lower
Lower
Matecumbe
and
upper
Long
Key
span
area,
that
the
two
tracks
were
merged
and
the
original
wooden
trestles
removed.
Work
continued
throughout
the
FEC
Key
West
Extension
until
1916
before
it
was
totally
completed;
therefore,
it
is
incorrect
to
say
that
the
railroad
was
built
in
seven
years
(1905
-1912)
-
11
years
is
correct..
To
facilitate
the
construction
crews
and
support
areas,
the
elbow
shaped
area
now
known
as
Craig
Key
was
at
least
double
the
width
of
the
typical
bridge
filled
approaches.
At
the
very
northern
area
of
this
elbow
was
also
a
railroad
siding
which
meant
triple
land
width
at
that
site.
This
was
known
as
"Cook's
Siding."
For
years
there
was
a
highway
traffic
pull
off
on
the
ocean
side
at
this
area.
Not
many
details
are
available
for
the
1913
to
1916
construction
period
other
than
a
few
construction
summaries.
It
appers
that
once
rail
service
began
in
1912
even
though
it
was
over
temporary
tracks,
the
pressure
was
off,
perhaps
totally
lost,
for
media
conerage.
A
huge
problem
was
that
scheduled
train
traffic
could
not
be
interferred
with
or
dangerous
construction
efforts
undertaken.
The
existing
construction
equipment
was
built
to
use
in
open
water
and
not
confined
areas
such
as
very
near
the
operational
wooden
trestles.
One
advantage
was
support
could
be
given
from
either
end,
the
southern
Lower
Matecumbe
site
named
"Crevallo"
or
the
nothern
Long
Key
site
named
"Rossmore."
The
construction
reports
indicate
that
considerable
fill
was
added,
but
we
can
only
assume
that
it
was
widened
to
accommodate
the
construction
facilities
as
well
as
the
permanent
set
of
bridges/tracks
along
side
of
the
operational
set.
It
is
during
this
period
that
I
feel
a
sufficiently
wide
area
was
built
and
buildings
left
for
a
small
fishing
operation.
The
date
is
not
known,
but
some
time
around
1930
or
1931,
Capt.
Craig
leased
the
right-of-way
from
the
railroad.
After
the
1935
hurricane
and
the
remains
of
the
railway
system
converted
to
a
highway
1937,
the
State
Road
Department
(SRD)
honored
the
previous
lease.
Not
much
is
known
of
this
period,
but
SRD
may
have
repaired
some
of
the
facilities
to
use
during
the
highway
building
process.
A
view
of
the
facilities
at
Craig
Key
is
shown
below.
|
Going
back
in
time,
Captain
Buck
Starck
remarked
that
in
his
early
days
(1920s
and
1930s)
of
chartering
fishing
excursions
out
of
the
Royal
Palm
dock
in
Miami,
Craig
was
the
"Center
of
the
universe
for
Miami
charter
captains."
Captain
Starck
and
others
used
large
100-foot
boats
towing
their
smaller
fishing
skiffs,
and
needed
six
to
eight
feet
of
water
to
dock
for
supplies.
The
only
places
to
dock
in
the
Upper
Keys
were
the
Angler's
Club,
Long
Key
Fishing
Camp
and
Craig.
The
first
two
catered
primarily
to
their
own
members,
but
Craig
had
his
share
of
customers
from
the
regular
fishermen,
celebrities,
industrialists
and
even
presidents.
|
 |
The
Miami
Herald
in
an
article
about
fish
as
large
as
whales
on
February
20,
1949
stated,
"
...
Actually,
the
only
camp
we
know
of
to
boast
a
regulation
whale
is
R.W.
Craig's
in
the
Keys.
Poor
Ole
Craig
after
years
of
prevarication',
has
come
through
with
a
30-foot
finback
whale.
"The
Dude-F
towed
the
mammal
in
for
pix,
then
towed
it
offshore
again
before
the
odor
exceeded
its
size.
This
operation
gave
Craig
an
exclusive
privilege.
"He
is
now
the
only
known
fishing
camp
proprietor
in
America
who
can
claim
-
with
complete
honesty
-
that
the
fish
taken
at
his
place
are
as
big
as
whales...."
Newspaper
columnist,
Water
Winchell,
paid
tribute
to
Craig
in
his
columns.
Craig
made
Ripley's
Believe
It
or
Not
twice.
In
1938
Ripley
depicted
the
small
building
on
the
left
of
the
highway
and
telephone/telegraph
poles
and
lines
with
the
caption
"Town
Built
on
a
Highway
-
instead
of
a
Highway
Built
thru
the
Town."
In
1947
he
pictured
a
huge
wave
covering
the
boat
with
a
man
up
the
mast
with
and
an
arrow
pointing
to
"Poor
Old
Craig." |
The
1935
census
lists
Craig
with
21
residents.
R.
W.
Craig
was
listed
as
manager/fishery
and
Mrs.
(Dorothy)
Craig
as
postmistress.
The
Craig's
had
twin
daughters,
Sally
and
Suzanne,
one
and
a
half
years
of
age
on
the
census.
Craig
was
affectionately
known
as
"Poor
Old
Craig."
Stories
abound
of
how
he
obtained
this
nickname.
His
business
and
his
popularity
grew
and
he
even
dabbled
a
little
in
politics.
Craig
defeated
T.
Jenkins
Curry,
the
first
county
commissioner
from
the
Upper
Keys,
and
served
in
the
position
from
1938
to
1942.
He
was
defeated
by
Harry
Harris.
|
 |
| Postal
records
show
the
post
office
at
Craig,
Florida
was
established
on
October
19,
1932,
discontinued
on
August
31,
1944
and
re-established
on
April
1,
1946.
In
August
1954,
Postmaster
Craig
announced
that
his
post
office
would
be
open
365
days
a
year,
including
Sundays
and
holidays.
Local
newspapers
stated
they
knew
of
no
other
"year
around
Post
Office."
The
lowest
official
recorded
barometric
pressure
at
sea
level
of
26.35
inches
during
the
1935
hurricane
was
at
Craig.
The
barometer
used
to
establish
the
record
was
the
property
of
Captain
Ivar
Olsen.
Capt.
Olsen
and
others
rode
out
the
hurricane
in
his
boat
which
was
out
of
the
water
and
propped
up
on
tall
timbers
in
the
Craig
area.
Since
the
barometer's
needle
was
below
the
scale,
he
scribed
marks
on
the
brass
casing.
One
may
ask
why
one
would
would
make
scribe
marks
on
a
barometer.
Normally
one
would
not
if
the
needle
was
over
the
scale
and
the
numbers
could
be
annotated/remembered.
Using
a
barometer
is
almost
an
art
and
one
particular
simple
use
is
to
know
when
a
storm
has
passed.
This
was
a
horrific
storm
and
psychologically
if
nothing
else
all
were
interested
to
know
when
the
storm
had
passed.
A
storm
is
a
cyclonic
low
barometeric
pressure
area
with
the
lowest
pressure
at
its
center;
therefore,
when
the
pressure
stopped
decreasing
it
was
at
its
worse
pressure
wise.
Without
numbers
from
the
instrument's
printed
scale,
some
kind
of
a
mark
was
needed
as
a
reference
point.
One
could
argue
that
the
later-calculated
26.35
was
only
the
lowest
pressure
marked
and
the
pressure
could
have
been
lower.
Evidently
the
hurricane
eye
wall
ranged
from
Craig
to
Long
Key.
Using
old
railroad
track
and
sets
of
dollies
with
small
railroad
wheels,
Capt.
Olsen
had
made
and
operated
a
ship's
way
to
haul
boats
for
repair
just
east
of
Craig's
store.
He
had
hauled
his
boat
and
temporarily
stored
it
before
the
1935
Hurricane.
After
the
hurricane
he
rebuilt
the
ship's
way
about
where
the
Corslan
Fish
Company
was
on
Lower
Matecumbe
Key.
|
The
Overseas
Highway
of
1928
did
not
go
as
far
as
Craig's.
It
stopped
at
lower
Lower
Matecumbe
Key
where
there
was
a
ferryboat
landing
and
vehicles
boarded
a
ferry
boat
for
No
Name
Key
or
vice
versa
if
north
bound.
The
State
Road
Department
and
the
Florida
Emergency
Relief
Administration
(FERA)
were
building
a
highway
bridge
to
eliminate
the
ferryboats
when
the
1935
Hurricane
struck
on
September
2,
1935.
An
important
piece
of
written
documentation
is
an
official
report
written
ny
a
FERA
inspector
on
his
rounds
after
the
hurricane
and
dated
September
16,
1935.
The
Craig
Key
part
of
the
report
reads:
|
 |
“.
.
.Craig,
Florida.
This
place
was
not
visited.
The
information
that
follows
was
obtained
on
Sept.
14th
from
Edward
Ashbee
at
the
Matecumbe
Ferry
Slip.
“Craig
is
built
up
on
a
fill
made
by
the
Florida
East
Coast
Railway
Company
and
is
about
3
1/2
miles
below
Matecumbe.
This
fill
is
about
one-half
mile
long.
There
were
quite
a
number
of
people
living
there.
Most
of
them
were
single
men
and
acting
as
fishermen.
These
fishermen
either
lost
their
boats
or
their
boats
were
damaged
very
badly.
There
were
no
deaths
at
Craig
but
some
inhabitants
received
minor
injuries.
At
present
there
are
only
six
men
on
this
small
island
and
these
men
are
trying
to
either
salvage
or
get
their
small
boats
in
shape
so
that
they
can
move
to
Tavernier
or
somewhere
else
where
dealers
will
come
down
and
buy
fish
from
them,
as
at
present
there
are
no
railroad
connections
to
Craig
or
any
other
means
of
transportation
within
30
miles
where
they
can
get
fish
to
the
mainland. |
“The
only
thing
left
standing
on
this
island
was
the
bridge
tender's
home.
This
place
belongs
to
the
F.
E.
C.
Railway.
The
bridge
tender
[R.
L.
Jackson]
and
his
wife
received
no
injuries
and
the
FEC
has
transferred
him
to
Homestead,
it
is
understood.
[The
Jackson
family
also
were
in
Olsen’s
boat
for
the
second
part
of
the
hurricane-
JW.]
“Mr.
R.
W.
Craig,
whom
the
island
is
named
after,
had
a
fishing
camp
there
and
also
a
yacht
basin
where
rich
people
would
come
down
during
the
winter
months
and
fish.
R.
W.
Craig
ran
a
general
supply
camp
such
as
selling
gasoline,
beer
and
all
other
yachting
needs.
It
also
had
quite
a
number
of
cottages
that
the
rich
people
used
to
live
in.
His
place
of
business
is
a
total
loss.
Every
thing
washed
to
sea.
Although
he
received
no
injuries,
he
at
present
is
safe
in
Miami.
.
.
.”
Herbert
Hoover
during
his
Florida
Keys
fishing
trips
used
Craig
Key
to
support
the
yacht
Saunterer
from
which
he
was
fishing
before
and
after
the
1935
hurricane. |
 |
Poor
Old
Craig
rebuilt
his
community
and
prospered.
In
fact,
he
needed
more
land
so
he
contracted
Alonzo
Cothron
to
dredge,
fill
and
connect
two
islands
on
the
bayside.
Collectively
the
two
islands
were
known
as
Craig
Cay.
Photos
from
the
Craig
family
indicate
that
about
80
feet
of
dredging
was
completed
on
July
22,
1954.
He
had
even
expanded
his
business
to
Key
West.
In
1940
he
leased
Trumbo
docks,
piers
1
and
2.
|
 |
| The
west
island
was
sold
and
he
contracted
with
Floyd
Lamb
to
make
another
island.
He
was
slowly
expanding
out
onto
the
east
island
when
Hurricane
Donna
in
1960
more
or
less
doomed
Craig.
The
northern
tip
of
the
east
island
is
seen
in
the
above
photo
at
the
center
left.
Craig
abandoned
his
"Key"
and
closed
the
post
office
whose
services
were
transferred
to
Long
Key
in
July
1963.
The
right-ofway
property
reverted
to
its
owners,
the
Florida
State
Road
Department. |
|
The
two
dredged
islands
which
remain
were
originally
named
Maloney
and
Coo
Keys;
albeit
collectively
Craig
referred
to
them
as
Craig
Cay.
Craig
sold
Coo
Key,
the
west
Key
(some
think
of
it
as
south),
to
Mr.
C.
A.
and
Virginia
Eaton
who
had
Alonzo
built
him
a
winter
home.
The
Eatons
sold
to
Cynthia
and
Carl
Twitchell
who
had
purchased
the
storm
damaged
Olney
Inn
in
1961
and
renamed
it
the
Cheeca
Lodge.
In
1964
Alonzo
remodeled
and
enlarged
the
house.
While
Carl
was
away
fishing,
Cynthia
called
it
“Kooky
Key”
because
of
the
boredom.
The
house
was
next
sold
to
Ray
Brown
while
Joe
Pinder
was
the
caretaker.
In
fact,
Brown
purchased
both
Keys
and
Tea
Table
Key. |
 |
The
east
Key
was
Maloney
Key
and
was
also
dredged
and
filled
by
Floyd
Lamb
Construction
Company.
The
Key
West
Citizen
of
June
1964
published
an
article
concerning
a
house
at
701
Seminole,
Key
West
that,
“.
.
.
Was
slowly
placed
on
a
barge
anchored
in
adjacent
waters,
and
prepared
for
a
75-mile
ocean
ride
to
Maloney
Key.”
Key
Westers
thought
it
was
a
first,
when
a
house
emigrated
by
water.
(Many
houses
had
immigrated
from
the
Bahamas.)
|
 |
| The
story
behind
the
article
is
that
as
a
child
Capt.
Starck
played
with
Martha
Endicott
while
her
parents
fished
with
Capt.
Starck
Sr.
Martha
married
Charles
Frasch
and
were
living
in
Key
West
when
they
looked
for
a
"special
location."
Capt.
Starck
showed
them
the
island
and
they
purchased
it.
The
Frasch's
contracted
Alonzo
Cothron
to
add
more
fill
and
build
a
concrete
stem-wall
on
which
to
set
the
Key
West
house,
featured
in
the
aforementioned
article.
Alonzo
barged
the
boat
from
Key
West
and
set
it
on
the
prepared
concrete
walls.
The
smaller
house
was
built
for
the
caretaker’s
house. |
|
The
name
Craig,
Florida
because
of
the
now
defunct
post
office
was
changed
officially
to
Craig
Key
in
1971
by
the
state
of
Florida.
The
two
small
islands
are
now
populated.
A
few
pilings
remain
off
the
oceanside
of
US-1
as
a
reminder
of
the
original
settlement
of
Craig.
The
Twitchell
house
is
being
restored
(the
story
is
that
the
Twitchells
had
two
more
houses
identical
to
this
one)
and
a
new
house
being
built
on
the
west
island.
The
Old
and
the
New. |
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