Next year will be the centenary of the arrival in Key West of Flagler's East Coast Extension. The Art and History Museum on Front Street in the Customs House has (or had) a newspaper on display from the time noting that some people opposed the arrival of the railroad in town, fearing it would upset the nature and balance of Key West's isolation. 
They weren't wrong. the railroad opened up the other islands in the chain to human development and the few hardy pioneers who had lived in the wild, communicating rarely by boat, were suddenly transformed into whistle stops by the arrival of the railway. Indeed until the railroad came through many of these specks of land were essentially unknown to the outside world and were named by the railway workers, frequently in honor of their home states.
When the railroad, never a money maker, was knocked out by the great storm of 1935 the railroad basically gave up and Key West went back to splendid isolation which must have been a problem for the people living along the railroad line and dependant on it for trade.
The state of Florida stepped in (imagine them having the vision to that today!) and turned the railroad into a highway, albeit a modest and rather slow one. The views were all the same though and in 1938 Key West was accessible by car without the use of ferries as had been the case previously. Things stayed the same until 1982 when the new decent highway was opened and a five hour trip to Homestead was reduced by half.
Whether or not that was a good thing depends on your point of view. For my part I like the "new" highway but I enjoy the ride.
No doubt there will be a frenzy of reminiscence the closer we get to the centennial of that first train arrival in January 1912, but I have a tendency to think about it every time I drive the rails to and from Key West.
They weren't wrong. the railroad opened up the other islands in the chain to human development and the few hardy pioneers who had lived in the wild, communicating rarely by boat, were suddenly transformed into whistle stops by the arrival of the railway. Indeed until the railroad came through many of these specks of land were essentially unknown to the outside world and were named by the railway workers, frequently in honor of their home states.
When the railroad, never a money maker, was knocked out by the great storm of 1935 the railroad basically gave up and Key West went back to splendid isolation which must have been a problem for the people living along the railroad line and dependant on it for trade. 
The state of Florida stepped in (imagine them having the vision to that today!) and turned the railroad into a highway, albeit a modest and rather slow one. The views were all the same though and in 1938 Key West was accessible by car without the use of ferries as had been the case previously. Things stayed the same until 1982 when the new decent highway was opened and a five hour trip to Homestead was reduced by half.
Whether or not that was a good thing depends on your point of view. For my part I like the "new" highway but I enjoy the ride.
No doubt there will be a frenzy of reminiscence the closer we get to the centennial of that first train arrival in January 1912, but I have a tendency to think about it every time I drive the rails to and from Key West.
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