Windley Key
Encyclopedia
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
in Monroe County
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
U.S. 1
U.S. Route 1 in Florida
U.S. Route 1 in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne, and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Highway System was established in 1926.US 1 runs in the state of Florida, and...
(the Overseas Highway
Overseas Highway
The Overseas Highway is a highway carrying U.S. Route 1 through the Florida Keys. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Railway. Completed in 1912, the Overseas Railroad was heavily damaged and partially...
) crosses the key at approximately mile markers 84—85.5, between Plantation Key
Plantation Key
Plantation Key is an island in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located in the upper Florida Keys on U.S. 1 , between Key Largo and Windley Key....
and Upper Matecumbe Key
Upper Matecumbe Key
Upper Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys.U.S. 1 crosses the key at approximately mile markers 79—83.5, between Windley Key and Lower Matecumbe Key....
.
All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada as of November 4, 1997, when it was incorporated.
Windley Key is home to Theater of the Sea
Theater of the Sea
Theater of the Sea, established in 1946, is a marine mammal park located in the Village of Islamorada, Florida, United States. It is a tourist attraction located on Windley Key in the Florida Keys. Visitors can swim with Atlantic bottlenose dolphins, California sea lions, and Sting Rays, or watch...
, a popular tourist attraction since 1946.
A Florida State Park Service geological site, and the popular Holiday Isle resort are also on the island.
History
Prior to the building of the Overseas RailroadOverseas Railroad
The Overseas Railroad was an extension of the Florida East Coast Railway to Key West, a city of almost 30,000 inhabitants located 128 miles beyond the end of the Florida peninsula...
, there were two separate islands there, known as the Umbrella Keys. Railway construction involved filling between these two keys which then became known as Windley Key, after a settler. This is the site of several extensive quarries which for many years supplied building stone, known locally as keystone. The railway station on Windley Key was known as Quarry.