Smyrna times., 1939-06-01
KEY WEST WILL
TRY COMEBACK
Experiment City, Rich in
Historic Lore, Seeks
Lost Prestige
SEEKING TOURISTS

KEY WEST.-This experiment"
city, rich in historic lore and natu-
raj beauty, but money poor. has
started down the comeback trail,
seeking to regain with the tourist
dollar the prestige it once held as a
leading industrial center of the
South.
A problem child of the recovery
administration, Key West underwent
a complete Transformation with the
aid of federal funds allotted by Of
fcials who visioned this coral island
a future tourist center unrivaled on
the continent.
When Key Vests population
dwindled from 27, 200 in 1912 to II, 900
in 1884. go per cent of whom were
on relief, federal agencies stepped
in and laid plans for rehabilitation
of the city.
Subsequently there followed COM
pletion of the Overseas highway, a
S7,40O. 900 project connecting Key
West with the Florida mainland. and
a program of Identification over
the entire island.
Old Beauty Retained.
Through the period of rejuvena-
ton the city retained its old-world
charm and tropical beauty. 1t re-
manned the romantic Key West of
its fctionlike history when pirates
and wreckers cruised it's surround
ing waters and Spanish sailors
roamed its narrow palm-lined
streets.
Stories of its history, obtained
mostly from the weather-beaten
fishermen whose families have re-
sided here for generations. revealed
that in the early part of the Nine
teenth century a majority Of the in
habitants were engaged in sa1vag-
ing ships wrecked on nearby reefs.
The practice became little more
than legalized piracy, according to
reports. The intrepid wreckers, it
was stated, salvaged more than
81 200, 900 worth of silks, wines, sill
verware and lumber between 1881
and 1874. The money helped them
to sustain a fleet of more than so
vessels to carry on their activities.
Channels Now Marked.
While a string of brightly-lighted
navigation aids now marks the
treacherous channels and hidden
reefs surrounding the island, num-
Der of large vessels are grounded
yearly in the vicinity of Key West.
They are aided by an ocean-going
wrecker stationed here.
Thousands of Cuban political ex-
lies who sought refuge here in the
latter part of the Nineteenth CEN
tury aided in the mushroom growth
of the island as an industrial center.
The peak was reached in 1896 and
the decline slowly began. In 1912,
Henry NJ. Flagler, Florida develop
er extending his East Coast railroad
across the Florida Keys to Key
West, found a city which was dis
integrating. Cigar manufacturers,
beset by labor troubles, were NOV
ing to Tampa. on the Florida west
coast. The sponge market collapsed.
Vessels no longer made the port a
stopping point.
Federal efforts to rehabilitate the
city took terrific blow in 1885 when
the Labor Day hurricane destroyed
the railroad and isolated the city.
The outcome, however, was the
Overseas Highway, built on the
roadbed of the railway and bringing
Miami within three hours by auto
mobile.
Today, this southernmost United
States city, sandwiched in between
the Gulf Of Mexico and the Atlantic
ocean and bolstered by a federal
government program, looks forward
to new era of prosperity as tour
ist center.