Exhibits

Robert The Doll is one-of-a-kind, handmade doll created around the turn of the 20th century.  Standing 40 inches tall and stuffed with wood wool known as excelsior, he is dressed in a sailor suit and once bore painted features not unlike those of a jester.  His unusual size indicates he may have been fashioned in […]

This exhibition brings together more than twenty works by celebrated Key West folk artist Mario Sanchez, whose painted woodcarvings vividly document the island’s people, traditions, and everyday life.  Through scenes filled with recognizable neighbors, street gatherings, parades, and quiet moments on front porches, Sanchez preserved the multicultural spirit of Key West, often called America’s Southernmost […]

In July 1934, Key West, once one of the richest cities in Florida, formally declared itself bankrupt. Of the 13,000 people who inhabited the town, 80% were on relief rolls and the City was deeply in debt. Once-flourishing sponge and cigar industries had long since moved elsewhere making it difficult for Key West residents to […]

Stanley Papio moved to Key Largo in 1949, at a time when the island was largely uninhabited.  He had no neighbors, there were no businesses on his doorstep, he lived an isolated life on a stretch of U.S. 1 at Mile Marker 101.  A welder in the U.S. Army during World War II, he took […]

After the 1846 hurricane destroyed the original lighthouse at Whitehead Point, the U.S. government began construction on a new tower the following year further inland.  Without modern radar, the lighthouse served as the only warning ships had about the hazardous waters of the Lower Keys. Tending the lighthouse was a dangerous job that demanded the […]

Originally built as a Civil War fortification, Fort East Martello has served several purposes over the years.  Its last role was as a training facility for the Navy and Army during World War II, after which time the Fort fell into disuse and decay.  After extensive restoration, the Society opened it in 1950 to the […]

They said it couldn’t be done – an overseas train to Key West.  Take a journey on the Florida East Coast Railway’s Key West Extension.  Henry Flagler, the Standard Oil tycoon, spent over $30 million of his own money to build a railroad joining mainland Florida to Key West. While the tracks are forever gone, […]

Depicting Hemingway: Guy Harvey Sketches ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ features 59 original pen-and-ink drawings by internationally-renowned marine wildlife artist and conservationist, Guy Harvey.  The sketches follow the narrative of Ernest Hemingway’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Old Man and the Sea. Widely recognized today as one of the world’s finest marine wildlife artists, […]