Truman Annex
Encyclopedia
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the part of the island that is west of Whitehead Street, with the exception of Bahama Village
Bahama Village
Bahama Village is a neighborhood in the City of Key West, Florida, Monroe County, United States. It is located southwest of downtown, in Old Town....
. It is where the winter White House for President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
is located from its days as part of the former Naval Station Key West. The Harry S. Truman Little White House
Harry S. Truman Little White House
]]The Harry S Truman Little White House in Key West, Florida was the winter White House for President Harry S. Truman for 175 days during 11 visits. The house is located in the Truman Annex neighborhood of Old Town, Key West....
in Key West, Florida
Key West, Florida
Key West is a city in Monroe County, Florida, United States. The city encompasses the island of Key West, the part of Stock Island north of U.S. 1 , Sigsbee Park , Fleming Key , and Sunset Key...
was the winter White House for President Truman for 175 days during 11 visits.
History
The annex got its start in 1845 as part of Fort Zachary TaylorFort Zachary Taylor
The Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Site, better known simply as Fort Taylor, , is a Florida State Park and National Historic Landmark centered on a Civil War-era fort located near the southern tip of Key West, Florida....
, a U.S. Army installation. The base was eventually taken over in 1947 as the "Fort Zachary Taylor Annex" to Naval Station Key West. New docks had been added in 1932 to make it a home base for submarines. The base was mostly decommissioned in 1974 because contemporary nuclear submarines were too large to use the facility. The Navy's primary installation in the area, Naval Air Station Key West
Naval Air Station Key West
Naval Air Station Key West , is a naval air station and military airport located on Boca Chica Key, four miles east of the central business district of Key West, Florida, United States....
, continues to operate about six miles (10 km) east of the annex on Boca Chica Key
Boca Chica Key
Boca Chica Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys approximately 3 miles east of the island of Key West.U.S. 1 crosses the key at approximately mile markers 6.5—8, east of Key West....
.
The area around Fort Taylor, as well as the fort itself, is now under the control of the State of Florida as Fort Zachary Taylor State Park. Much of the annex was sold to private developers who have made it a gated residential community, while 32.4 acres (131,118.3 m²) were transferred to the City of Key West at no cost to be used for green space and to protect a neighborhood known as "Bahama Village" which is home to many citizens of African-Bahamian descent. The remainder continues to be utilized as a military installation and is known as Naval Air Station Key West - Truman Annex.
Many refugees from the 1980 Mariel boatlift
Mariel boatlift
The Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980....
arrived via the Truman Annex. The ship berthing dock and the Outer Mole (Harbor) have been retained by the Navy, which dredges the harbor and collects 40 percent of cruise ship docking fees.
The Annex was renamed the "Truman Annex" after Truman spent his winters in Key West in the annex.