The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1926-03-24
TALE OF THE TWO TOWERS
Also Key Vests First Railroad Island Unique
Position During Days of Civil War

Key West had a railroad near
ly half century before the great
Flagler System was ever dreamed
of. 1t was a sure-enough railroad.
with locomotive, cars and every
thing. It was not a very long
railroad, but one of the busiest
ones that was ever built. The
track extended from Fort Taylor
90 the towers. These old defense
units were for decades referred
to as towers 1 and 2, but in re-
cent years they have been given
the name of Martello Towers.
The material for building these
old towers was brought to Fort
Taylor on ships and then convey
ed by this railroad to where the
old towers now stand. There were
no paved streets to cross and very
few houses to pass, a dense growth
Of tropical trees lining both sides
of the railway most all the way.
That has been a long, long time
ago, yet there are number of
"old timers" here today who re-
call with much interest the Sum
day rides they took on this rail-
road when they were boys and
girls.
Key Westers were in charge of
the operation of this little rail-
road system. It was under the
general supervision of Claude
Babcock, father of George Bah
cock of this city, and a Mr.. Lord,
father of John Lord, was foreman
of the cars.
Capt. Billie Shaw, a licensed sea
pilot for the past 54 years, now
living in this city, was a young
man then, and he helped to dig
the foundation for the first tow
er. In addition to the stalwart
Key Westers engaged in the con-
struction work, $50 burly Irish
men were brought from New York
and placed on the job. The brick
masons were paid "top wages, !"
for those days, receiving $3.50
per day. Laborers on the job
averaged about s1.25 per day.
Capt. Shaw says work was start
ed first on the tower nearest the
Casa Marina. He remembers
among the other then young men
of Key West engaged on the job.
John Whalton, who was in after
years killed in the Civil war; Jos
Whaiton, who died in this city q
few months ago, and Thomas
Gwynn, dead many years. Manu-
featuring brick by machinery was
an art unknown in those days, so
all the brick in the Martello
Towers were handmade, and
Capt. Shaw thinks that they came
from Pensacola. The sand, he
says, was taken from South Beach
and hauled TO the towers on the
railroad. Fort Taylor was prac-
ticaIly completed at this time, but
Capt. Shaw says work of building
all three of them was going on
at the same time for a long period.
When excavations were made for
the foundations of the towers,
water rushed. in. and all the
young men of the crew were put
to pumping it out. Capt. Shaw
was among them, and he says it
was certainly s.some job. .
There were no gasoline nor
electric motors with elevators to
lift the brick and mortar to the
brickIayers on the high scaffolds.
This material was carried up lad
ders in hods held on the shoulders
of the workmen. It was like the
old Irishman who wrote back to
the old country that he had job
over here where he didn't have to
work at ali. All he had to do was
to carry the brick up, and men
up there did all the work.
So far as can be recalled by
Capt. Shaw, these old towers were