Craig Key
Encyclopedia
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
.
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 (892.3 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.
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
.
U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 in Florida
U.S. Route 1 in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne, and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Highway System was established in 1926.US 1 runs in the state of Florida, and...
(or the Overseas Highway
Overseas Highway
The Overseas Highway is a highway carrying U.S. Route 1 through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially...
) crosses the key at approximately mile marker 72, between Lower Matecumbe Key
Lower Matecumbe Key
Lower Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys.It is located on U.S. 1 between mile markers 75--78.All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated....
and Fiesta Key
Fiesta Key
Fiesta Key is an island in the middle Florida Keys.It is connected via causeway to U.S. 1 at mile marker 70, near the eastern end of Long Key.First recorded as Jew-Fish Kay ....
.
History
Craig Key was originally named Camp Panama, and was not a natural island, but a wide spot on the Overseas RailroadOverseas Railroad
The Overseas Railroad was an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city of almost 30,000 inhabitants located 128 miles beyond the end of the Florida peninsula...
right-of-way. It was originally a vacation spot and flag stop
Request stop
In public transport, a request stop or flag stop describes a stopping point at which trains or buses stop only on an as-need or request basis; that is, only if there are passengers to be picked up or dropped off. In this way, infrequently used stopping points can be served efficiently.Trains save...
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
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
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 (892.3 mbar), the lowest sea-level atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure
Atmospheric pressure is the force per unit area exerted into a surface by the weight of air above that surface in the atmosphere of Earth . In most circumstances atmospheric pressure is closely approximated by the hydrostatic pressure caused by the weight of air above the measurement point...
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.