Cedar Key Historic and Archaeological District

History of Cedar Key

The importance of the Cedar Key area goes back to around 500 BC, and according to archaeologists, Native American societies of the Deptford era thrived in Cedar Key due its abundant natural resources as well as easy access to potable water and fishing. Between 200 and 1,000 AD, it is thought that the Timucua tribe lived in the area.

Cedar Key was part of the Spanish exploration in the early 16th century, as maps of Cedar Key have been found that date back to 1542, when the island was labeled as Las Islas Sabines. Habitation was quite slim within the next few centuries, as the islands were mostly used by both merchant ships as well as pirates. Some of the most infamous pirates thought to have used Cedar Key included Jean Lafitte as well as Captain Kidd. 

European colonization came to the keys following William Augustus Bowles's successfully completion of a watchtower on the island in 1801. Bowles was infamous for pursuing a separate American Indian state and for forming a short-lived state known as the State of Muskogee, from which he declared war on Spain. Due to this adversarial relationship between himself and Spain, the Spanish destroyed his watchtower in 1802. 

The first true settlement on Cedar Key began in 1839, following General Zachary Taylor’s construction of Fort No. 4 on Depot Key. The military fortifications were later destroyed in 1842 by a hurricane, and the island was then opened to homesteading. By 1850, Congress authorized construction of a lighthouse on the nearby Seahorse Key; it was lit in 1854. Development was just about spurred in 1860 with the arrival of the Florida Railroad, which passed through Gainesville and connected with Fernandina Beach. Unfortunately, the Civil War slowed development of the city, as the islands were occupied periodically by both the Confederacy as well as the Union until 1864, when the Union finally took over the island and used it as a base for its operations. 

Development finally took off in the Reconstruction Era, as railroad traffic resumed and commerce grew. By 1869, the incorporated Town of Cedar Key boasted a population of 400. Fishing, sponge-collecting, pencil manufacturing (from the namesake cedar trees on the island) and oystering dominated the local economy; however, the oyster beds soon became exhausted at the beginning of the 20-century. To protect the area, President Hoover established the Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge in 1929. Today, tourism of the Cedar Key Historic District is a strong economic driver of the area, providing visitors with an interesting view into the colorful and long history of this area.₁

Cedar Key Museum State Park

The Cedar Key Museum State Park showcases items of historical significance collected by Saint Clair Whitman, who was a local resident from the late 19th-century until the early 20th-century. The museum was first an informal affair, held in Whitman’s home and featuring collections of sea shells and Native American artifacts. Since its official establishment in 1962, the Cedar Key Museum offers a fascinating variety of exhibits and other artifacts that tell the complete story of Cedar Key, from Native American habitation to the cedar industry that was also prominent on the key. One of the more intriguing aspects of the Park is the historic St. Clair Whitman House, which has been restored to depict what life was like at Cedar Key between the 1920s and 1930s. 

John Muir Historic Marker

Also at the Cedar Key Museum State Park is the "John Muir at Cedar Key" historical marker. In fact, Cedar Key was John Muir’s ending destination during his famed walk from Kentucky to Florida. He arrived in Cedar Key in 1867, where he contracted malaria working at a local sawmill. He was nursed back to health in the house of the mill owner’s superintendent, and he would then sail to Cuba in 1868 before making his famed travels to the Sierra. ₁