Geiger Key
Encyclopedia
Geiger Key is an island
in the lower Florida Keys
about 5 miles (8 km) east of Key West
. It is located to the south of, and bridged to, Big Coppitt Key
via Boca Chica Road (Monroe County Road 941
) at approximately mile marker 11 on U.S. 1
(or the Overseas Highway
). It is home to the small trailer park community of Tamarac, Geiger Key Pub & Grill and Geiger Key Marina. It is part of the census-designated place
of Big Coppitt Key, Florida
.
It was named after the Geiger tree
(Cordia sebestena), which in turn was named by John James Audubon
for Captain Geiger. Captain Geiger was a successful Key West wrecker
with whom Audubon lived during his 1832 stay in the keys. A.D. Bache, in the notes for his Coast Survey conducted in 1861 says of the key: "Geiger's Key is 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 1 miles (1.6 km) wide. It was in good cultivation in 1855, and was then inhabited by an industrious German
, from whom it derived its name."
Island
An island or isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, cays or keys. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot , or holm...
in the lower Florida Keys
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...
about 5 miles (8 km) east of Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
. It is located to the south of, and bridged to, Big Coppitt Key
Big Coppitt Key
Big Coppitt Key is an island in Monroe County, Florida, in the lower Florida Keys. The name is said to be a derivation of the old English word "coppice", meaning thicket. According to A.D. Bache, in the notes for his coast survey conducted in 1861, this key was the location of Happy Jack's...
via Boca Chica Road (Monroe County Road 941
State Roads in the Florida Keys
Since the opening of the Overseas Highway in 1938, the set of Florida State Roads, USA, serving the Florida Keys has been a small one. Currently only two such roads designated by Florida Department of Transportation are located on the string of islands in Monroe County, Florida, and only eight...
) at approximately mile marker 11 on 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...
). It is home to the small trailer park community of Tamarac, Geiger Key Pub & Grill and Geiger Key Marina. It is part of the census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
of Big Coppitt Key, Florida
Big Coppitt Key, Florida
Big Coppitt Key is a census-designated place and an unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, on an island of the same name in the lower Florida Keys. The CDP also includes the neighboring islands of Geiger Key and Shark Key. As of the 2000 census, it had a total population of 2,595. ...
.
It was named after the Geiger tree
Geiger tree
Cordia sebestena is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae.It is native to the American tropics, from southern Florida in the United States and The Bahamas southwards throughout Central America and the Greater Antilles...
(Cordia sebestena), which in turn was named by John James Audubon
John James Audubon
John James Audubon was a French-American ornithologist, naturalist, and painter. He was notable for his expansive studies to document all types of American birds and for his detailed illustrations that depicted the birds in their natural habitats...
for Captain Geiger. Captain Geiger was a successful Key West wrecker
Wrecking (shipwreck)
Wrecking is the practice of taking valuables from a shipwreck which has foundered near or close to shore. Often an unregulated activity of opportunity in coastal communities, wrecking has been subjected to increasing regulation and evolved into what is now known as marine salvage...
with whom Audubon lived during his 1832 stay in the keys. A.D. Bache, in the notes for his Coast Survey conducted in 1861 says of the key: "Geiger's Key is 2 miles (3.2 km) long and 1 miles (1.6 km) wide. It was in good cultivation in 1855, and was then inhabited by an industrious German
German American
German Americans are citizens of the United States of German ancestry and comprise about 51 million people, or 17% of the U.S. population, the country's largest self-reported ancestral group...
, from whom it derived its name."