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| Key West Real Estate |
Insider Knowledge & Global Connections |
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On July 3, 1823, 22 years before Florida become a state, Monroe County was incorporated and became the sixth county in Florida. By 1825 the population of Florida was 13,554. Key West was the county seat and the only settlement in Monroe County.
Piracy, slave ships and salvaging wrecked ships were some of the first successful businesses operated in the Keys. In January 1828 the first newspapers, the Key West Register and the Commercial Advertiser began circulation. The Key West Gazette followed in 1831. In 1834 the Enquirer began circulation. The Citizen did not begin circulation until the 1900’s.
By 1830, the population of Key West was 517. By 1829, the 258 acres of Key West were mapped out into a town of 64 blocks.
Monroe County is divided into four parts. The Upper Keys (7 islands), the Middle Keys (12 islands), the Lower Keys (20 islands) and Key West. There are 5 incorporated communities in Monroe County; Key West (1828), Key Colony Beach (1955), Layton (1963), Islamorada (1998) and Marathon (2000).
Monroe County is 1,144,800 total acres. The 40 inhabited islands make up just 65,500 acres or 5.3 percent of the total land mass. The federal and state government owns most of the land and will keep it for conservation purposes. This land will never be developed.
210,000 acres, or 34% of developable land in the county, is vacant. 10% of that 34% is divided into 15,000 to 20,000 vacant lots that are located in the Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve.
Key West is now 2,600 acres. In 1829 Key West was just 258 acres. The military controls about 25% of Key West and a good portion of the military land was ocean that was “filled” to create land. This land “fill” explains why “Old Town” and “New Town” have those names. Key Largo is 22,000 acres. Big Pine is 6,500 acres. Cudjoe is 3,800 acres. Saddlebunch is 3,700 acres. Boca Chica is 3,500 acres. Sugarloaf is 3,200 acres. Stock Island is 1,800 acres. |
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