A Colorful and Historic Community

Located on Boca Chica Key, Key West Naval Air Station is located four miles northeast of Key West proper. Known as "the Caribbean of the United States," the Keys are as close as you can get to Paradise without leaving the country.
Due to the Keys'proximity to both Cuba and the Caribbean, their history is as colorful as their inhabitants. The area has sheltered Spanish conquistadores, French pirates, Caribbean salvagers, Cuban shipbuilders and East Coast sailors. In fact, many of the structures built on the Keys date back to the 1850s, and many of the land titles and deeds were issued from the King of Spain. The surrounding communities offer so many unique sights and activities—each Key is a veritable "Treasure Island" for you to explore.

Key West
Key West has a long-standing reputation as being the premier tourist/vacation destination as the southernmost city in the continental United States. However, Key West has a lot more to offer than just sun, beaches and surf. Architecture, history and adventure are on the menu year-round. And let's not forget Key limes, pineapples and "Pink Gold" (shrimp). The Mayor of Key West has begun a campaign to establish Key West as "the cleanest little city in America"—a plan which will boost the foundations of the island, thus improving its overall appearance. From mentoring and youth athletic sponsorship, to physically cleaning and tending to the island, Key West's citizens have answered the call to strengthen the island as a whole.

History
Discovered by Ponce de Leon in 1513, the isle was named "Cayo Hueso" or "Isle of Bones" upon landing, because the ground was scattered with the bones of Native Americans—it was later found to be a native burial ground. The term "Key West" is actually an English mispronunciation of Cayo Hueso, so named in 1822 when a small naval depot was established. Prior to U.S. occupation, the island chain was a haven for criminals and pirates, as well as Native Americans. The island's two earliest industries were fishing (self explanatory) and salvage. The salvage industry made Key West the largest and most prosperous city in Florida due to the large reefs flanking the island. Literally hundreds of trade ships struck and sank on the reefs, and divers salvaged millions of dollars worth of riches. To this day, the coast of Key West is one of the most dived locations in the world due to the ships still sunken close to the coast. However, from 1890 to 1935, the island's population steadily declined, and construction/ industries all but ceased. In turn, WWII brought a population boom and industry increase, more than doubling in the 20 year span between 1940 to 1960. However, after 1960, bases shut down nationwide and Key West was no exception. Cyclical yet again, from 1960 to 1980, population declined slightly less than 30 percent. By 1990, the population was on the rise yet again (from 24,377 to 24,832), and currently the population has reached a plateau of 27,698.
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