Craig Key: Difference between revisions
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==History== |
==History== |
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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 [[Request stop|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-dock]]ed boat near the island, recorded a barometer measurement of {{convert|26.35|inHg|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. |
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The island was formerly known as Poor Craig's Key for Mr. R.W. Craig who was the owner of the island. His wife, Dorothy Thiot Craig, helped him run the island and served as postmaster. Their descendants are still Florida residents. [Roland and Dorothy Craig had twin daughters, Susie and Sally, born in 1934. They attended Coral Way Elementary School in Miami in the ‘40s after the family moved to Miami.] |
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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. |
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Poor Old Craig (Roland Craig) tied himself to a piece of railroad track during the hurricane of 1935. [One story has it that Roland wrapped himself in a piece of tarpaulin and tied himself to the rails of the FEC railway track beneath the steam engine that had backed cars down the keys hoping to save the several hundred CCC camp workers trapped by the storm. The tarpaulin is said to have saved him from the sand blasting effects of the estimated 200 mile per hour winds of the hurricane. Others in the train engine above were said did not have fared as well.] It saved his life and hangs in Ripley's Believe it or Not! Museum. His family was safe in Miami. Roland rebuilt the island after the hurricane. |
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President Herbert Hoover moored his yacht there when he visited the keys. |
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A post office was established there in the late 1920s. It operated until destroyed by [[Hurricane Donna]] in 1960. |
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==Reference== |
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*[http://www.keyshistory.org/CRK-Craig-Key.html History of Craig Key] |
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{{Florida Keys}} |
{{Florida Keys}} |
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{{Coord|24.838329|N|-80.759468|E|display=title}} |
{{Coord|24.838329|N|-80.759468|E|display=title}} |
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Revision as of 16:05, 20 October 2008
Craig Key is an island 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.
History
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.
Reference
24.838329°N -80.759468°E / 24.838329°N 80.759468°W Coordinates: longitude degrees < 0 with hemisphere flag
{{#coordinates:}}: invalid longitude
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