The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1940-08-05
1893 DIRECTORY
RECALLS OLD DAYS

only thing necessary Tor the I'LL
| innate development of Key West
to the largest port in the South,
which she will become on the
opening of the Panam0 Canal.
A railroad is perfectly feasible
and the route has been surveyed
over the keys by a competent
survey corps"
Leading business was the man.
ufacturing of cigars, 100,000,000
to 100000 of which were pro-
duced annually. The weekly pay
roll amounted to from 100000 to
/ $4,000. This is the leading cen
/ ter in the United States for the
. manufacture of domestic Havana
cigars and operatives in the
factories were better paid than
"any other class of manual labor
ers" in this country. Good
wages can be earned by a novice
in a short time, the writer in
formed his readers.
Next in importance was the
sponging and fishing industry.
An income of S1,000,000 was
realized from the sponging trade
during a prosperous year. Then,
however, as now, the preServa-
lion of the beds was a problem
Laws have been enacted to pre-
serve the sponge beds from de-
.truction, but the fishermen are
not always careful to obey them.
The writer stated. Spongers
were mostly BohemianS and the
share" system between workers
and owners of the vessels was in
use at that time No figures were
given for the fishing business.
but the selling of 'the famous
Green turtle found in these wa
gers'' amounted to about S4O,-
coo year. Fish were shipped
% Cuba, New York and other
coints. and all 'are caught here
with hook and line as it is i'm
Dossible to use a seine in these
coral Strewn waters.
Truck gardening was an "ex-
tremely profitable" business, the
writer declaring that fortunes
are being made in this industry,
and in a few years this section
Of Florida will have become, in
deed, the winter garden of the
world Continuing, the author
stated, There is no season of the
year in which some crop can not
&c cultivated with profit. To-
matOes, melons, egg plants and
other summer vegetables were
shipped north and commanded
extravagant prices. 'Cucumbers
sold at one dollar apiece in Feb
ruary at the Tampa Bay Hotel,
the writer revealed. In 1892
Mallory line shipped 92.732 pack
ages of vegetables and Southern
Pacific Line 36,774-a total Of
129,506 packages. Coconuts. ba-
nanas. plantains. oranges, lines.
sapOdillaS, avocado pears, pine
apples, guavas and other tropical
fruits were grown on the keys.
Martin Wagner Canning Com
pany, of Baltimore. was to open
factory that would can fruits
and vegetables at the rate of g.
/ 900 containers a day.
Telephone and telegraph COM
munications existed then, both in
the same building now occupied
by the telegraph company at
Greene and New Streets. Three
steamship lines and one schooner
/ line operated from this port. zone
F.. of the finest" electric light plants
in the South was in operation.
and there were eight miles of
track used by the street car as
ISOLATION. which ''contemplates
+ changing from mules to electric
+ motors at an early day and ex-
tending the line into the sub
urbS". The fire department con-
! sisted of four steam engines.
four hose carts with $500 feet of
hose, one hook and ladder truck.