  Craig Key Craig Key  Craig Key Craig Key (Caribbean) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gulf of Mexico |
| Coordinates | 24°50′16″N80°45′34″W / 24.8379°N 80.7595°W Coordinates: 24°50′16″N80°45′34″W / 24.8379°N 80.7595°W |
| Administration | |
| State | Florida |
| County | Monroe |
Craig Key is an island city in the middle Florida Keys.
U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway) crosses the key at approximately mile marker 72, between Lower Matecumbe Key and Fiesta Key.
Craig Key was originally named Camp Panama, and was not a natural island, but a wide spot on the Overseas Railroad right-of-way. It was originally a vacation spot and flag stop on the railroad. Roland W. Craig leased the island from the railroad in the early 1930s, and by 1935 the island had been named Craig, Florida. Former president Herbert Hoover sailed his yacht out of Craig at times in the 1930s. The island's greatest claim to fame, however, is being the landfall site of the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane. Captain Ivar Olsen, who had been taking refuge from the storm in his dry-docked boat near the island, recorded a barometer measurement of 26.35 inches of mercury (892 mbar), the lowest sea-level atmospheric pressure ever recorded on land. The town was a total loss, but was rebuilt, and prospered as a vacation spot after the storm.
Originally a single island, two more man-made Keys were added, one to the southwest in 1955, and one to the northeast some time later. The name of the town was officially changed to "Craig Key" in 1971. [1]
Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 702 at the 2010 census. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th century. The Cedar Keys are named for the eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana, once abundant in the area.
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Island, it constitutes the City of Key West.
Marathon is a city spread over Knight's Key, Boot Key, Key Vaca, Fat Deer Key, Long Point Key, Crawl Key and Grassy Key islands in the middle of the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 8,297. As of 2019, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was 8,581.
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry Tortugas. The islands lie along the Florida Straits, dividing the Atlantic Ocean to the east from the Gulf of Mexico to the northwest, and defining one edge of Florida Bay. At the nearest point, the southern part of Key West is just 93 miles (150 km) from Cuba. The Florida Keys are between about 24.3 and 25.5 degrees North latitude.
Scout Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys. It was previously known as West Summerland Key until 2010. U.S. 1 crosses the key at approximately mile markers 34–35, between Spanish Harbor Key and Big Pine Key.
The Great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record in terms of pressure, and tied with Hurricane Dorian in 2019 for the strongest landfalling Atlantic hurricane by maximum sustained winds, with winds of 185 mph (295 km/h). It was also the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record until Hurricane Gilbert in 1988. The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and second major hurricane of the 1935 Atlantic hurricane season, the Labor Day hurricane was one of four Category 5 hurricanes on record to strike the contiguous United States, along with Hurricane Andrew in 1992, Hurricane Camille in 1969, and Hurricane Michael in 2018. In addition, it was the third most intense Atlantic hurricane on record in terms of barometric pressure, behind Hurricane Gilbert in 1988 and Hurricane Wilma in 2005.
Boca Grande is a small residential community on Gasparilla Island in southwest Florida. Gasparilla Island is a part of both Charlotte and Lee counties, while the actual village of Boca Grande, which is home to many seasonal and some year-round residents, is entirely in the Lee County portion of the island. It is part of the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Boca Grande is known for its historic downtown, sugar sand beaches, blue water and world class fishing.
The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México.
The Seven Mile Bridge is a bridge in the Florida Keys, in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It connects Knight's Key in the Middle Keys to Little Duck Key in the Lower Keys. Among the longest bridges in existence when it was built, it is part of the Overseas Highway in the Keys, which is part of the 2,369-mile (3,813 km) U.S. Route 1.
The Overseas Highway is a 113-mile (181.9 km) highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially destroyed in the 1935 Labor Day hurricane. The Florida East Coast Railway was financially unable to rebuild the destroyed sections, so the roadbed and remaining bridges were sold to the state of Florida for $640,000.
The 1935 Atlantic hurricane season included the Labor Day hurricane, the most intense tropical cyclone to ever strike the United States or any landmass in the Atlantic basin. The season ran from June 1 through November 15, 1935. Ten tropical cyclones developed, eight of which intensified into tropical storms. Five of the tropical storms strengthened into hurricanes, while three of those reached major hurricane intensity. The season was near-normal for activity and featured five notable systems. The second storm of the season sank many ships and vessels offshore Newfoundland, causing 50 fatalities. In early September, the Labor Day hurricane struck Florida twice – the first time as a Category 5 hurricane – resulting in about 490 deaths and $100 million (1935 USD) in damage along its path.
The Overseas Railroad was an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city located 128 miles (206 km) beyond the end of the Florida peninsula. Work on the line started in 1905 and it operated from 1912 to 1935, when it was partially destroyed by the Labor Day Hurricane.
Key Vaca is an island in the middle Florida Keys, located entirely within the borders of the city of Marathon, Florida.
Card Sound Bridge is a high-rise toll causeway connecting southern Miami-Dade County and northern Monroe County. It is one of only two ways that motorists can leave or enter the Florida Keys. The toll for two-axle automobiles is USD $1.50 if paid via SunPass. The prior toll plaza was demolished during hurricane Matthew and has been replaced with a toll-by-plate plaza. The toll fee will be charged by plate automatically and sent via the mail to the address on the vehicle registration. The cashless all-electronic tolling system replaced the previous staffed toll booth on October 20, 2018. The toll fee is waived upon evacuating the Keys for hurricanes or in instances in which US 1 is impassable.
Lower Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys, United States, located on U.S. 1 between mile markers 75–78.
Bahia Honda is an island in the lower Florida Keys.
The Bahia Honda Rail Bridge is a derelict railroad bridge in the lower Florida Keys connecting Bahia Honda Key with Spanish Harbor Key. It was originally part of the Overseas Railway, but the state of Florida purchased it from the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) after the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane and converted it for automobile use as part of the Overseas Highway in 1938. After a replacement Bahia Honda Bridge was opened in 1972, two spans of the old bridge were removed for the safety of boat traffic and to prevent pedestrian access to unsafe parts of the bridge.
Grassy Key, Florida, is an island in the middle Florida Keys. It is located on U.S. 1, near mile markers 57—60, below the Conch Keys. It has an area of 3.65 km², with a population of 974 as of the census 2000.
The Long Key Bridge, officially known as the Dante B. Fascell Bridge, is a bridge in the Florida Keys connecting Long Key and Conch Key, roughly halfway between Miami and Key West. At a length of nearly two and a half miles, it is the second longest bridge on the Overseas Highway after the Seven Mile Bridge. The current bridge opened in 1982, replacing the parallel Long Key Viaduct, which carried the Overseas Railroad from 1907 to 1935 and was repurposed for highway use shortly after.
Clarence Stanley Coe was an American master bridge builder and railroad civil engineer, who supervised the planning and building of the Florida East Coast Railway’s Seven Mile Bridge, linking the Florida Keys to Marathon, Monroe County, which, when completed in January 1912, was acclaimed as the longest bridge in the world and an engineering marvel. Later, Coe was appointed the first city manager of Miami, Florida, and after that was appointed chief engineer of Duval County, Florida.
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