| The small island of Key Largo is not only known for its beauty but
for its rich history, as well. Not long after Christopher Columbus discovered
the New World in 1492, adventurer Ponce de Leon,
in search of that illusive fountain of youth, sighted the Florida Keys on Sunday May
15, 1513.
There is no record that any of the ships even came on shore, but later other
visitors did. The explorers named the island CAYO LARGO, the "long rock shoal".
The early settlers farmed Key Largo and the Upper Keys, and
produced groves of Key limes, tamarind and breadfruit, as well as fields of
pineapples. The lower part of Key Largo became known as "Planters" which is now the town
of Tavernier.
Henry Flagler’s "railroad that
went to sea", begun in 1902 and completed in 1912, did little for Key Largo communities except to shift transportation
centers from the ocean to railroad stops. This ceased with the destruction of
the railroad by the Great Hurricane of 1935. The railroad property was then
purchased by the state for the new highway, known ever since as Highway U.S. One or the Overseas Hwy.
The Key Largo area, so close to the mainland yet
so isolated from the amenities of "civilization", has given its residents a strong sense
of self reliance. Today, the water, electricity and supplies come from the
mainland. Most of the businesses are locally and/or family owned and operated. Much
of the famous movie "Key Largo" was filmed here in 1948 at what is today the
Caribbean Club, a local watering hole. A number of other successful movies have
also been filmed in Key Largo areas, for example: Drop Zone and Heartbreakers.
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