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| Train on the seven mile railroad bridge |
The possibility that a highway from Key West to
the mainland was first uttered in a political address by George W. Allen in
1895. The first real step that would indicate the coming of a land
transportation system in the Keys was the railroad. Post offices came along with the railroad
providing daily deliveries of people and goods. The Overseas Highway really
came about because of the 1935 hurricane that destroyed Flagler's Florida East
Coast Railway. This is basically true,
but the highway actually started happening before that. The building of the Overseas Highway really
began in 1917. Monroe County floated a
$100,000 bond issue to build roads, and trails, on Key Largo, Big Pine Key and the
Cow Key Channel Bridge between Key West and Stock Island.
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| Florida Year - Round Club (Angler's Club) Key Largo 1930's |
What really sparked the need for the Overseas Highway was the
rapid growth of the real estate market. Monroe County was only accessible by
the railroad and the Miami Motor Club wanted to give its winter tourists a
suburban fishing ground. The real estate interests wanted vehicular access to
the thousands of undeveloped acres in the Upper Keys. Dade and Monroe
County commissioners met jointly and decided to connect Key Largo with the
mainland. They wanted to follow the railroad route, but the Miami’s
interests wanted a route that would help the fishing, that was the Card Sound
route, which finally one out.
Monroe County residents voted a $300,000 bond
issued in 1922 to construct a road from the Key Largo Anglers Club, which began at the turn of the twentieth century as a small fishing camp and trading
post on the Bay side of Card Sound, that became part
of the “Florida Year Round Club in the early 1930's. to the Key Largo Train Depot.
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| Ferry Boat "Key West" around 1934 |
Dade County completed the 11 miles
of road from Florida City to Little Card Point, between Card and Barnes
Sound. Monroe County built the drawbridge and connected the Dade County road to
the existing North Key Largo road. The
roadway and bridge were severely damaged in the 1926 hurricane, a decision was
made to raise the bridge height from five to nine feet as a result of the
damage. Until the completion, in March of 1927 an auto ferry towed by a
powerboat transported cars from Florida City to the east end of the Card Sound
bridge. The road was also made serviceable as far as
Islamorada during that same time period. J. Otto Kirchheiner, chairman of the Monroe
County commissioners, was the first to drive a car using a combination of roads
and ferries from Key West to the mainland on July 18, 1927. . Key West had built a road as far as No Name
Key and the construction of a ferryboat pier began at Lower Matecumbe and No
Name Key connecting the two ends of the keys. January
16, 1928, three ferryboats at a cost of $850,000 were put into operation
between Lower Matecumbe Key and No Name Key. One ferry would go east and one
ferry would be returning west. The
third was kept in reserve or in maintenance. However, one ferry burned eight
months later. This was a 41-mile ferry trip. Each ferry could take 20 cars and the trip
took about four hours. The toll was $3.50 for vehicles under 14 feet up to
$6.50 for vehicles over 16 feet, driver included. Passengers were charged $1.00
each. Officially for the public the Overseas
Highway opened January 25, 1928.
