  Craig Key Craig Key Show map of Florida Craig Key Craig Key (Caribbean) Show map of Caribbean | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gulf of Mexico |
| Coordinates | 24°50′16″N80°45′34″W / 24.8379°N 80.7595°W /24.8379; -80.7595 |
| Administration | |
| State | Florida |
| County | Monroe |
Craig Key is an island city in the middleFlorida Keys.
U.S. 1 (or theOverseas Highway) crosses the key at approximately mile marker 72, betweenLower Matecumbe Key andFiesta Key.
Craig Key was originally named Camp Panama, and was not a natural island, but a wide spot on theOverseas Railroadright-of-way. It was originally a vacation spot andflag stop on the railroad. Roland W. Craig leased the island from the railroad in the early 1930s, and by 1935 the island had been named Craig, Florida. Former presidentHerbert Hoover sailed his yacht out of Craig at times in the 1930s. The island's greatest claim to fame, however, is being the landfall site of the1935 Labor Day Hurricane. CaptainIvar Olsen, who had been taking refuge from the storm in hisdry-docked boat near the island, recorded a barometer measurement of 26.35 inches of mercury (892 mbar), the lowest sea-levelatmospheric pressure ever recorded on land. The town was a total loss, but was rebuilt, and prospered as a vacation spot after the storm.
Originally a single island, two more man-made Keys were added, one to the southwest in 1955, and one to the northeast some time later. The name of the town was officially changed to "Craig Key" in 1971.[1]
 | ThisMonroe County, Florida location article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byexpanding it. |
