Key West Oldest House

Constructed circa 1829 and moved to its current location circa 1836, this house was the residence of Francis Watlington, who served as a lieutenant in the Confederate Navy Squadron at Mobile, Alabama, including service on the gunboat CSS Gaines and ...

Key West Lighthouse

The present Key West Lighthouse was constructed in 1847 to replace the earlier 1825 lighthouse destroyed by the hurricane of 1846 and was an important navigational aid during the Civil War. Due to the quick action of Union forces in ...

Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park

Sited to protect the strategic harbor at Key West, construction of Fort Zachary Taylor began in 1845 some 1,200 feet offshore from the city. After Florida seceded from the Union in January 1861, U.S. Army Captain James Brannan moved his ...

West Martello Tower - Key West

In 1862, the Union military began construction on two fortifications, known as the East and West Martello Towers. Located on the south shore of Key West to provide defensive support to Fort Zachary Taylor, the West Martello Tower was built ...

East Martello Tower - Key West

In 1862, the Union military began construction on two fortifications, known as the East and West Martello Towers. Located on the south shore of Key West to provide defensive support to Fort Zachary Taylor, the East Martello Tower is two ...

Cape Florida Lighthouse

To protect shipping in the hazardous Straits of Florida, Congress authorized the construction of the Cape Florida Lighthouse in 1822. The first lighting occurred on December 17, 1825. In July 1836, an Indian attack in the early months of the ...

Gamble Plantation

Major Robert Gamble began a 3,500-acre sugar plantation on this site in 1844, and constructed the Gamble Mansion and a sugar mill of brick and tabby between 1845 and 1856. The Gamble family sold the plantation in 1858, and in ...

Manatee County Historical Records Library

Located in the restored 1918 Carnegie Library building, the library contains governmental records dating back to 1855.

County historical records, some of the Civil War era, are available to researchers, including deed books, marriage licenses, probate files, court records, County Commission ...

Curry Settlement Homes

Originally from Key West, John W. Curry relocated his family to Manatee in 1860 and constructed several houses close to the Manatee Mineral Spring before and following the Civil War. During the Civil War, Curry sold a number of vessels ...

Monument to Colored Troops

Installed in 2000, the Civil War’s 2nd Regiment Infantry, U. S. Colored Troops monument is dedicated to the black Union soldiers who defended the Federal post at Fort Myers against the Confederate attack in February 1865.

A single black soldier standing ...