Key West is an unincorporated community

Unincorporated area

In law, an unincorporated area is a region of land that is not a part of any municipality.To "incorporate" in this context means to form a municipal corporation, a city, town, or village with its own government. An unincorporated community is usually not subject to or taxed by a municipal government...

 in Dubuque County

Dubuque County, Iowa

Dubuque County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. The population was 93,653 in the 2010 census, an increase from 89,143 in the 2000 census. The county seat is the city of Dubuque. Dubuque County is coterminous with the Dubuque, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the seventh...

, Iowa

Iowa

Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, near the extreme southern end of the city of Dubuque

Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque is a city in and the county seat of Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, located along the Mississippi River. In 2010 its population was 57,637, making it the ninth-largest city in the state and the county's population was 93,653....

. Parts of the community are now within the city of Dubuque, while others are unincorporated. Owing to the presence of U.S. Highways 151

U.S. Route 151

U.S. Route 151 is a U.S. Highway that runs through the states of Iowa and Wisconsin. The southern terminus for U.S. 151 is at a junction with Interstate 80 in Iowa County, Iowa, and its northern terminus is at Manitowoc, Wisconsin. The route, from south to north follows a northeasterly path through...

, 61

U.S. Route 61

U.S. Route 61 is the official designation for a United States highway that runs from New Orleans, Louisiana, to the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. The highway generally follows the course of the Mississippi River, and is designated the Great River Road for much of its route. As of 2004, the highway's...

, and 52

U.S. Route 52

U.S. Route 52 is a United States highway that runs across the northern, eastern and southeastern regions of the United States. Contrary to most other even-numbered U.S...

, and the nearby Dubuque Regional Airport

Dubuque Regional Airport

Dubuque Regional Airport is a public airport located 6 miles south of Dubuque, Iowa along U.S. Highway 61. The airport's site is a parcel of land about 1,100 acre large. There are two runways for this airport....

, the area is home to a growing number of businesses. Some of these are high tech

High tech

High tech is technology that is at the cutting edge: the most advanced technology currently available. It is often used in reference to micro-electronics, rather than other technologies. The adjective form is hyphenated: high-tech or high-technology...

 companies being built in the Dubuque Technology Park, to the east. Development in the area will likely increase rapidly following the planned construction of the city's Southwest Arterial, an extension of Iowa Highway 32.

The village does have a number of local establishments that allow it to maintain a certain degree of autonomy. It has its own church, St. Joseph's - Key West Catholic Church

Saint Joseph's Catholic Church (Key West)

Saint Joseph's Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish located south of Dubuque, Iowa in the community of Key West, Iowa. The parish is part of the Archdiocese of Dubuque....

, two schools (St. Joseph's - Key West Elementary, Table Mound Elementary), a cemetery (Mt. Olivet

Mount Olivet Cemetery (Dubuque)

Mount Olivet Cemetery is a Catholic cemetery located at 10378 Military Road in Key West, Iowa approximately south of Dubuque. It is one of the two large Catholic cemeteries located in the Dubuque area...

), Fire

Fire station

A fire station is a structure or other area set aside for storage of firefighting apparatus , personal protective equipment, fire hose, fire extinguishers, and other fire extinguishing equipment...

/EMS

Emergency medical services

Emergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...

 department, and a hotel (Heartland Inn

Heartland Inn

Heartland Inn is an Iowa based chain of hotels. The company operates 19 locations, 18 are located in Iowa, and one is located in Wisconsin. The company is based out of Waterloo, Iowa. The corporate name is Heartland Midwest Management, Inc and is located at 3136 Brockway Road in Waterloo...

).

The little town of Key West, Iowa, was settled in 1834, only a year after Dubuque's opening. There was plenty of timber, prairie land and streams for water in section 12 of Table Mound Township, in Dubuque County, on the road that became the Old Military Road.

The town was named because it was considered the main egress from Dubuque westward.