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Historic Key West - OU069B
The Southernmost point buoy is an anchored concrete buoy in Key West, Florida.
Owner:
KnowsOpie
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Altitude: m. ASL.
Region:
United States > Florida
Cache type: Virtual
Size: No container
Status:
Archived
Date hidden: 2013-09-20
Date created: 2013-09-20
Date published: 2013-09-20
Last modification: 2016-04-06 
484 visitors 
1 x rated 
Rated as: n/a
Cache attributes
Description
EN
The Southernmost point buoy is an anchored concrete buoy in Key West, Florida marking one of the extreme points of the United States. The large painted buoy is a tourist attraction established in 1983 by the city at the corner of South Street and Whitehead Street.
The Southernmost point was originally just marked with a sign, which was often stolen. In response to this, the city of Key West erected the now famous concrete buoy in 1983. The concrete buoy is actually an old sewer junction that was dug up in the area and found too heavy and large to move, so it was painted up to look like a buoy.
Today it is one of the most visited and photographed attractions in Key West. During the day there are usually several street vendors present selling various souvenirs and conch shells.
The History Of The Southernmost Point.
Black residents used the beach immediatly west of the Southernmost Point because it was adjacent to their community and they were not allowed to use the "white" beach from Duval Street to Simonton Street. In the summer of 1942 shortly after the start of WWII, the Navy placed a chain link fence around the land so it could no longer be used by civilians. The black population's only access to the ocean at that point became the foot of Whitehead Street until desegration in the mid 1960's. Black fisherman used the area to store boats and clean their catch, which would be strung on a line to be sold to locals and taken home. The shellfish-conchs-were also brought ashore, killed and cleaned. In the mid 1960's one could still buy "a string of conchs" for only a couple of dollars. Conch shells became a desirable souvenir with the advent of the sight-seeing train in 1958. By the 1970's Albert Kee and his father, "Yankee" Kee had become fixtures along the route blowing conch horns as the train came by.
To log this cache enter the name of the republic written along the triangle on top of the buoy in the code phrase.
The Southernmost point was originally just marked with a sign, which was often stolen. In response to this, the city of Key West erected the now famous concrete buoy in 1983. The concrete buoy is actually an old sewer junction that was dug up in the area and found too heavy and large to move, so it was painted up to look like a buoy.
Today it is one of the most visited and photographed attractions in Key West. During the day there are usually several street vendors present selling various souvenirs and conch shells.
The History Of The Southernmost Point.
Black residents used the beach immediatly west of the Southernmost Point because it was adjacent to their community and they were not allowed to use the "white" beach from Duval Street to Simonton Street. In the summer of 1942 shortly after the start of WWII, the Navy placed a chain link fence around the land so it could no longer be used by civilians. The black population's only access to the ocean at that point became the foot of Whitehead Street until desegration in the mid 1960's. Black fisherman used the area to store boats and clean their catch, which would be strung on a line to be sold to locals and taken home. The shellfish-conchs-were also brought ashore, killed and cleaned. In the mid 1960's one could still buy "a string of conchs" for only a couple of dollars. Conch shells became a desirable souvenir with the advent of the sight-seeing train in 1958. By the 1970's Albert Kee and his father, "Yankee" Kee had become fixtures along the route blowing conch horns as the train came by.
To log this cache enter the name of the republic written along the triangle on top of the buoy in the code phrase.
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