Thompson Fish House, Turtle Cannery and Kraals | |
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| Location | 200 Margaret St., Key West, Florida |
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| Coordinates | 24°33′42″N81°48′4″W / 24.56167°N 81.80111°W Coordinates: 24°33′42″N81°48′4″W / 24.56167°N 81.80111°W |
| Built | 1918 |
| Architect | Unknown |
| NRHP reference # | 94000633 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | June 23, 1994 |
The Thompson Fish House, Turtle Cannery and Kraals is a historic site located at 200 Margaret Street, Key West, Florida, United States. On June 23, 1994, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.
Florida is the southernmost contiguous state in the United States. The state is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and to the south by the Straits of Florida. Florida is the 22nd-most extensive, the 3rd-most populous, and the 8th-most densely populated of the U.S. states. Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. The Miami metropolitan area is Florida's most populous urban area. Tallahassee is the state's capital.
The United States of America (USA), commonly known as the United States or America, is a country comprising 50 states, a federal district, five major self-governing territories, and various possessions. At 3.8 million square miles, the United States is the world's third or fourth largest country by total area and is slightly smaller than the entire continent of Europe's 3.9 million square miles. With a population of over 327 million people, the U.S. is the third most populous country. The capital is Washington, D.C., and the largest city by population is New York City. Forty-eight states and the capital's federal district are contiguous in North America between Canada and Mexico. The State of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west. The State of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, stretching across nine official time zones. The extremely diverse geography, climate, and wildlife of the United States make it one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.
The kraals were fenced-in holding pens adjacent to the cannery in a sheltered bay at the north end of town, where turtles were kept awaiting slaughter. The once-fashionable turtle meat was canned and sold to cooks who used it largely to make turtle soup. The valuable Tortoiseshell was used to make many kinds of products made today from plastic.
Kraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a fence of thorn-bush branches, a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form. It is similar to a boma in eastern or central Africa.
Turtle soup is soup or stews made from the meat of turtles. Differing version of the soup exists in some cultures and are viewed as a delicacy.
Tortoiseshell or tortoise shell is a material produced from the shells of the larger species of tortoise and turtle, mainly the hawksbill sea turtle, which is a Critically Endangered species according to the IUCN Red List largely because of its exploitation for this trade. The large size, fine colour and unusual form of the hawksbill's scutes make it especially suitable. The distinctive patterning is referred to in names such as the tortoiseshell cat, several breeds of guinea pig, and the common names of several species of the butterfly genera Nymphalis and Aglais, and some other uses.
The building is owned by the City of Key West, and currently houses exhibits from the nearby Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum. The Turtle Kraals Museum, which educated the public about dangers to sea turtles, was formerly located at this site. [2]
Mel Fisher Maritime Museum & Historical Society
