Pelicans and seabirds abound. Cedar Key has a rich history dating back before the Civil War. After the war, lumber and shipbuilding were the major industries here. After a hurricane leveled the town in 1896, its economic importance to industry evaporated. Cedar Key is now a quiet resort area.
Local industry is now commercial fishing, crabbing, oystering and clam farming.
Cedar Key is the home to many artists who find their inspiration in the glorious sunrises and peaceful sunsets, in the teaming marsh lands and the bird sanctuary. Cedar Key is also home to the Cedar Key Historical Society Museum . Area history is depicted through photographs dating back to the 1850s and artifacts and tools of the Seminole and Timucuan Indians. The Cedar Key State Museum is another must see. It is here that the shell collection of St Clair Whitman, said to be one of the most complete collections ever assembled, is on display.