Happy Hour with the Historian | Wreck Ashore: How Key West Became Florida’s Richest City

The Key West Art & Historical Society is excited to offer a series of fun historical lectures entitled ‘Happy Hour with the Historian’.

Historian: Cori Convertito Ph.D.

Topic: Wreck Ashore: How Key West Became Florida’s Richest City

Long before it became known for tourism, Key West built its fortune on the sea, often from the misfortune of others.

In the early nineteenth century, the waters surrounding the island were among the most dangerous in North America. Treacherous reefs and busy shipping lanes led to frequent shipwrecks, creating the foundation for one of the region’s most profitable industries: wrecking. Salvaging cargo from stranded vessels brought immense wealth to the island and helped transform Key West into Florida’s largest and most prosperous city.

Even before Florida became a U.S. territory in 1821, many of the island’s earliest settlers were already engaged in maritime trades. As wrecking flourished, it attracted a growing population of merchants, shipbuilders, lawyers, physicians, and other professionals, establishing Key West as a vital economic and cultural center.

By the mid-nineteenth century, additional industries, including sponging and turtle fishing, expanded the island’s maritime economy, further shaping its identity and influence in the region.

This talk explores how shipwrecks, salvage, and sea-based industries fueled the rapid rise of Key West, and how an economy built on the hazards of the sea made it one of the wealthiest cities in Florida.