
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, located among the Florida Keys. The island was inhabited by the Calusa and Tequesta peoples before the Spanish explored the area and named it Cayo Hueso ("Bone Cay"). While Cubans and Bahamians regularly fished in Key West, the island was scarcely inhabited; the British governor of East Florida failed to establish a post on Key West in 1766, and Bahamians set up temporary settlements in the Keys in 1806-1807, with New Englander fishermen establishing short-lived settlements in the Keys after the War of 1812. In 1815, the Spanish governor of Cuba deeded Key West to Spanish Navy officer Juan Pablo Salas, who sold the island to former South Carolina governor John Geddes in 1821 and later to an American businessman. On 25 March 1822, Lt. Commander Matthew C. Perry planted the US flag at Key West, and Cayo Hueso was renamed to Thompson's Island after Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson, while its harbor was named Port Rodgers in honor of War of 1812 hero John Rodgers. By the 1830s, Key West became the richest city per capita in the United States, but it was devastated by an 1846 hurricane. During the American Civil War, Key West remained in Union hands because of its naval base, even as many locals flew Confederate flags over their homes. Key West became home to a large free Black population as well as a sanctuary for escaped slaves, and the 2nd United States Colored Infantry Regiment garrisoned the island from 1864. After the war, the island was involved in salt manufacturing, wrecking, fishing, and turtling. Many Cuban refugees sought refuge in Key West during the Ten Years' War of the 1860s-1870s, and Key West became a major producer of cigars. Key West was devastated by a great fire in 1886, resulting in the cigar industry largely relocating to Ybor City in Tampa. In 1898, USS Maine sailed from Key West to Havana, where her explosion led to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. Key West remained a wealthy city even after it was devastated by 1909, 1910, and 1919 hurricanes, and its isolation was ended in 1912 with the arrival of the Overseas Railway. In 1935, a hurricane destroyed much of the railway and killed hundreds of residents, including 400 World War I veterans who were working on federal projects. The railroad was replaced by a highway in 1938, and over 14,000 ships passed through the harbor during World War II. In 1946, President Harry S. Truman established a "Little White House" in Key West, spending 175 days of his presidency there. By 2020, Key West had 26,444 residents, of whom 61.11% were white, 22.42% Hispanic, 9.69% Black, 3.42% multiracial, 2.3% Asian, .7% other, .22% Indian, and .13% Pacific Islander. Key West was historically a reliable Democratic stronghold, with the western part being more strongly Democratic than the rest of the island.