Cedar key beach11/28/2023 ![]() ![]() The city has done a great job of managing their population over the past ten years with their capture & spay/neuter efforts, and the town cats that we saw this visit all appeared healthy and happy. When we first visited about twelve years ago, the cats were everywhere and some had obvious health issues. Nowadays the wildest thing you’ll find in downtown Cedar Key is the population of feral cats. A busy seaport, it was a hub of activity, and at various times in its history had a wild-west kind of reputation. In the 19th century Cedar Key was a large city by Florida standards. Should that happen, this resilient community would rebuild and go on, a tribute to the perseverance and resilience of those who choose to live in this storm-vulnerable location. Now instead of trains, fishing boats, and ice packing houses lining Dock Street, you will find restaurants, shops, vacation rentals, a great fishing pier, and parking for a few dozen cars.Īll of the buildings that line dock street are built on piers, and as with every building that came before it in this place, could be just one major hurricane away from becoming a piece of Cedar Key history. ![]() The original U-shaped dock was originally the Florida railroad’s western terminus, where seafood and locally manufactured goods such as lumber, cedar pencil blanks, and whisk brooms were loaded for export. All that remains of the “Honeymoon Cottage”, with Dock Street & city pier to the leftĭock Streetis the other main downtown drag. Just before road’s end, Hwy 24 intersects with 2nd Street, and we’ve entered Cedar Key’s small commercial district. 2nd Street – Downtown Cedar Key, FloridaĪfter driving those last few slow miles down Highway 24, past unpretentious old coastal homes and Mom & Pop hotels, over smaller islands and a few short bridges, we reach Way Key. This place is pretty isolated, which is just one of the reasons that it’s so special. In order to reach this island town in the Gulf of Mexico, we will be driving dozens of miles on a blue highway through pine forest and palmetto scrub before the foliage opens up to reveal the small salt marsh islands that dot the Gulf. Locals talk about putting up a sign as visitors head back to the mainland that says, "Resume Normal Behavior."īut nobody's in much of a hurry to do that.One doesn’t just happen upon Cedar Key. One popular attraction is the factory ruins and an old cemetery on Atsena Otie, an easy paddle over for birding or fishing (and beaches better than the mainland), or you can skip the workout and get there with Island Hopper and other tour boats.Ĭedar Key moves on its own peaceful schedule, in its own, unique way. Locals have ever since subsisted on a little fishing, a little tourism. In 1896 a hurricane devastated the town, wiping out the factory on offshore Atsena Otie Key. Looking back, decline set in when locals said "no" to railroader Henry Plant, who wanted to build a deepwater harbor and hotel. Florida's first coast-to-coast railroad had its Gulf terminus at Cedar Keys, as the town was then called.Īfter the Civil War, the place boomed for 30 years. The cedar trees that bestowed the town name supplied a large pencil factory. In the mid-1800s the place was an industrial center. Twice-cursed Cedar Key is probably Florida's most impressive early failure as a town. ![]()
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