Pillywiggin Postscripts

Key West Cemetery

1/30/2021

Perhaps for all the wrong reasons, Key West Cemetery turns up on most online lists of "Things to See & Do in Key West." Websites mention the peculiar sense of humor of the residents who chose funny inscriptions for their grave markers. I had read the dead outnumber the living by 4 or 5 to one on Key West. So, like many tourists, we decided to check it out. We actually made two treks to the cemetery. We wandered down our 1st night after the sunset at Mallory Square. I'm not sure what streets we walked to get there. It was getting darker & the streets were not well-lit. The houses we passed were very small & rundown. It was a little sketchy. We were fine but I would not have wanted to walk that particular street by myself at night. When we reached the cemetery it was almost completely dark. Too late to enter or see anything so we decided to return the next day.

We spent a couple hours at the cemetery the next afternoon. We never did find the funny epitaphs and I'm glad we didn't. What we did find was much more interesting.

The oldest gravesite here dates back to 1829. Several graves predate the cemetery itself. Dated 1829-1843, the oldest gravesites were relocated here after a hurricane destroyed the original cemetery.

The earliest birth dates we found dated back to the late 1700's. We were surprised to note the number of people that lived to a ripe old age, many were in their 80's! That seemed unusual to us considering the difficulties people surely experienced back then combined with the lack of medical knowledge & treatments available.

Infants & Children

It broke our hearts to see the number of infants & children interned here. Nowadays, we celebrate pregnancy with baby showers & gender reveal parties. We tend not to think about how dangerous pregnancy & childbirth can be for mothers and children. Before modern medicine, prenatal care & vaccines it was all too common to lose children. Almost half died before reaching adulthood.

"All true stories begin and end in a cemetery."
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Sandy Cornish

Sandy Cornish's life story is truly amazing. An enslaved man who bought his freedom then maimed himself to keep it. Cornish & his wife purchased land to farm. Selling fruits & vegetables he eventually became one of the richest men in Key West. He was a leader in the community founding the Cornish Chapel of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. The South Florida Times published a short article in 2004 titled "Freed Slave Sandy Cornish Gets A Marker In Cemetery" that's also an interesting read.

Notice the small plaque at the bottom of the marker. Many of the gravesites are cared for by volunteers. I was touched by the kindness of the residents & reminded that compassion is part of Key West's history.

I thought of the slave trade display we had just seen at Mel Fisher Maritime Museum and of the 3,000 residents of Key West that banded together in 1860 to shelter 1,432 Africans removed from 3 slave ships bound for Cuba that had been seized by our Navy. Residents gathered food, clothing & provisions to aid the suffering strangers. They provided medical care for the ill and gave proper burial to the 294 African refugees that died. Some 160 years later, the residents of Key West are still caring for strangers. It's heartwarming to see such kindness & compassion carry on.

Ellen Russell Mallory

Ellen Russell Mallory

William & Euphemia Curry

William Curry Bust from Mallory Square

J. Vining & Florida Curry Harris House

James "Jimmy" Mira, Jr.

USS Maine Monument

On February 15th, 1898 the Battleship USS Maine exploded & sank in Havana Harbor, an event that led to the Spanish-American War. Two dozen American sailors from the USS Maine are buried in plots to the left & right of the center monument. This section includes Spanish-American War Veterans and Veterans of other wars. Civil War Era Veterans are buried in plots along the perimeter of the fence. Also buried in this section are 2 British airmen, a Brazilian sailor, one woman & an infant.

USS Maine Gun-Sight Mallory Square

Jewish Cemetery

The Jewish Cemetery is maintained by the B'nai Zion Synagogue. Graves in this section date from the 1890's to present day. Notice all the little stones in the photos. Mourners place stones on the gravesites as a sign of respect.

Beautiful Wrought Iron Fencing

Unique Monuments

The Lowe Family Plot

Alfred Lowe, 1840-1921, snuck out of Union held Key West to join the Confederate Army. He survived the Civil War and later became one of Key West's oldest surviving Confederate Veterans. Caroline Lowe, 1813-1887, flew a Confederate flag from her home on Duvall Street especially when Union Troops marched below.

John Lowe, Jr. bust at Mallory Square

Strange Beauty

The Key West Cemetery is full of history that's both heartwarming & sad. It's an odd mixture of old & new. Utilitarian & ornate. Gravesites have fallen into disrepair but are well-tended. There are people buried here representing all walks of life. They came to Key West at different times, for different reasons, from different states & countries. Although they came from different cultures & religious backgrounds, they now all share common ground.

Chickens roam freely throughout the cemetery. We watched several of them scratching around large holes. I'm not sure if they were excavating the holes or just picking around them for food. Whatever they're up to, it's destructive.

Maybe they were looking for iguana? There are plenty of those scurrying around too. Big ones! (I later learned that green iguana also dig holes to lay eggs and to bypass obstacles like walls & fencing.) To be honest, I wasn't keen on sharing space with either of them.

After we returned home, I went back to the Key West Travel Guide for follow-up research for this post & found their Key West Cemetery Map & Self-Guided Tour online. (Duh, Julie! It would have been nice to have that information when we visited.) Good thing we each took 100's of photos. We have learned so much just by matching our photos to online information. And the funny epitaphs? We walked right past the back side of those markers & never noticed.

We were leaving Key West the next morning. Two more days on the island would have been nice but we will visit again. Although there was plenty left to explore, we had learned the answer to our question, "Could we live the crazy island life on Key West?" NOPE! It was a great place to visit but it's not home.

Are you ready to roll? We're headed through the Everglades next!

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Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

1/27/2021

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The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. It was the one place in Key West Jason really wanted to see & the one indoor activity we couldn't resist. Have you heard of Mel Fisher? He's likely the most famous treasure hunter of all time. The man who dedicated his life to finding the Atocha and succeeded!

Want to learn more? We found an interesting movie on Netflix called "Dreams of Gold: The Mel Fisher Story." It was a made for TV movie in 1986 with a few familiar faces, namely Loretta Swit (Major Margaret "Hotlips" Hoolihan from M*A*S*H.)

Adult admission is $16 each, well worth the opportunity to see so many priceless historical treasures. Our hesitation to be indoors was eased by precautions such as contactless payment & limited admission. The museum has a nice layout too so we never felt crowded, herded or rushed.

Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

Custom Magnetometers (above)
A pioneer in the diving industry, Mel Fisher created some of the first wet suits. He crafted spear guns, dredge pumps & more.

Solid silver bars from the Nuestra Señora de Atocha

The Atocha

The First Search

Historical Artifacts

Items for Everyday Living

The Atocha carried 14 tons of provisions to feed 260 men for 8 weeks. Daily rations included 1-1/2 biscuit, 2 pints wine, 1 pint water, salted meat and cheese, beans or rice depending on the day of week.

A Fortune In Treasure

She also carried a fortune in treasure worth millions of dollars in the 1600's. The Nuestra Señora de Atocha (translation Our Lady of Atocha) was named after a holy shrine in Madrid, Spain. She was loaded with copper, silver, gold, tobacco & indigo bound for Spain. The Atocha was also heavily armed as she was the Almirante or Rear Guard of the fleet.

Smuggled Gems

With Treasure Comes Pirates

We were awestruck by the history & treasures on exhibit at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. But if you thought you'd be leaving without a tear in your eye and a lump in your throat you would be mistaken. The museum also shows the horrors of the slave trade and the plight of Cuban refugees seeking freedom in America.

Slavery & The Slave Trade

A copper cauldron, the only one ever found, held mush to feed the slaves on board.

Voyage to Freedom - Cuban Chugs

Chugs are the boats Cuban refugees crafted (out of almost anything) to make the 90 mile journey from Cuba to Freedom in the United States of America.

We took a lot of pictures but none match the experience of touring the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. It's something one should see for themselves. If you find yourself in Key West, don't miss this museum. It was a truly amazing, highly informative and extremely moving experience.

We have one more stop on our walking tour of Key West.
And two more weeks of exploring to do.
Following us for more adventure!

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Fort Zachary Taylor

1/23/2021

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Those darn roosters had us up with the sun so we decided to head to Fort Zachary Taylor to get a little exploring in before breakfast. Our first stop (of course) hot mochas to go from Cuban Coffee Queen. You may notice I'm wearing a knee brace in the photos. No worries. The ol' knee just needed a little extra support. We walked 2-3 miles each day in Palm Beach Shores but we were logging 6-8 miles a day in Key West. Check my meter, almost 11k steps by 11:15 a.m. walking the fort!

On our way we found an art & farmer's market setting up in Truman Waterfront Park. We couldn't pass that up! Tours are available of the ship also.

We passed the Coffee Butler Key West Amphitheater, took pictures of the birds hanging out in front of the The Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and checked out the equipment display in front of the Truman Annex Naval Air Station.

Admission to Fort Zachary Taylor is $2.50 each for pedestrians. Car admission is $4.50 for single admission, $7.00 for two passengers, increasing by 50 cents for each additional passenger. The park is open daily from 8 am to sunset. The fort is open from 8 am to 5 pm. We found a bit of history in the park before reaching the fort.

The Blacksmith Shop

Fort Zachary Taylor

See the "You Are Here" star?
There we were!

Beautiful view from the top deck...

But it's the history uncovered up top that's remarkable!

Battery Osceola

Battery Adair

"The 10 Holer"
Egads! A little privacy please!

Harbor View - Upper Deck

Iguana View - Upper Deck
Ack! They were HUGE!!

The Barracks

Sally Port & Jail Cells

Armory & Equipment

"Scarlett"

The Grounds of Fort Taylor

We hope you enjoyed exploring Fort Zachary Taylor as much as we did. We worked up an appetite for breakfast but we haven't satisfied our craving for history yet. Next up, we're taking a "deep dive" into history at the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum. It was the one indoor location we couldn't resist. It was incredible!

Keep following. We'll meet you there!

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