Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 687, down from 702 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands near the mainland. Most of the developed area for the city of Cedar Key has been on Way Key since the end of the 19th century. The Cedar Keys are named for the eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana, once abundant in the area.
History
Early
While evidence suggests human occupation as far back as 500 BC, the first maps of the area date to 1542, when a cartographer from Spain labeled it "Las Islas Sabines" (which means "The Cedar Islands" in Spanish). An archaeological dig at Shell Mound, north of Cedar Key, found artifacts dating back to 500 BC in the top of the mound. The only ancient burial found in Cedar Key was a 2,000-year-old skeleton found in 1999. Arrow heads and spear points dating from the Paleo period (12,000 years old) were collected by Cedar Key historian St. Clair Whitman, and are displayed at the Cedar Key Museum State Park.
Followers of William Augustus Bowles, self-declared "Director General of the State of Muskogee", built a watchtower in the vicinity of Cedar Key in 1801. The tower was destroyed by a Spanish force in 1802. In the period leading up to the First Seminole War, the British subjects Alexander Arbuthnot and Robert Ambrister used the Cedar Keys to deliver supplies to the Seminoles. The Cedar Keys may have been a refuge for escaped slaves in the early 1820s, and an entry point for the illegal slave trade later that decade.
Indian War
During the Second Seminole War, the United States Army established Fort No. 4 on the mainland adjacent to the Cedar Keys. (The name "No. 4" was later applied to a boat channel next to the fort, and then to a railroad trestle and a highway bridge over that channel.) In 1840, General Zachary Taylor requested the Cedar Keys be reserved for military use for the duration of the war, and that Seahorse Key be permanently reserved for a lighthouse. In 1840, General Walker Keith Armistead, who had succeeded Zachary Taylor as commander of United States troops in the war, ordered construction of a hospital on what had become known as Depot Key. (The island's name may reflect the establishment of a depot there by Florida militia general Leigh Read. The primary depot for the U.S. Army in Florida at the time was at Palatka, Florida.) Depot Key was the headquarters for the Army in Florida, but Fishburne states headquarters was not in a fixed place, but wherever the commander was.
Cantonment Morgan was established on nearby Seahorse Key by 1841 and used as a troop deployment station and as a holding station for Seminoles who had been captured or who had surrendered until they could be sent to the West. A hurricane with a storm surge struck the Cedar Keys on October 4, 1842, destroying Cantonment Morgan and causing much damage on Depot Key. Some Seminole leaders had been meeting with Army officers at Depot Key to negotiate their surrender or a retreat to a reservation in the Everglades. After the hurricane, the Seminoles refused to return to the area. Colonel William J. Worth had declared the war to be over in August 1842, and Depot Key was abandoned by the Army after the hurricane.
Pre-Civil War
right|thumb|[[Island Hotel ]]
In 1842, the United States Congress had enacted the Armed Occupation Act, a precursor of the Homestead Act, to increase white settlement in Florida as a way to force the Seminoles to leave the territory. With the abandonment of the Army base on Depot Key, the Cedar Keys became available for settlement under the act. Under the terms of the act, several people received permits for settlement on Depot Key, Way Key, and Scale Key. Augustus Steele, US Customs House Officer for Hillsborough County, Florida, and postmaster for the Tampa Bay area, received the permit for Depot Key, which he renamed Atsena Otie Key. In 1843, he bought the buildings on the island, and built some cottages for wealthy guests. In 1844, he became the Collector of Customs for the port of Cedar Key, as well as for Tampa, Florida. A post office named "Cedar Key" was established on Atsena Otie Key in 1845. The Florida legislature chartered the "City of Atsena Otie" in 1859.
Cedar Key became an important port, shipping lumber and naval stores harvested on the mainland. By 1860, two mills on Atsena Otie Key were producing "cedar" slats for shipment to northern pencil factories. As a result of the growth, the US Congress appropriated funds for a lighthouse on Seahorse Key in 1850. The Cedar Key Light was completed in 1854. The lighthouse lantern is above the ground, but the lighthouse sits on a hill, putting the light above sea level. The light was visible for . Wood-frame residences were added to each side of the lighthouse several years later.
In 1860, Cedar Key became the western terminus of the Florida Railroad, connecting it to Fernandina Beach, Florida on the east coast of Florida. David Levy Yulee, U.S. senator and president of the Florida Railroad, had acquired most of Way Key to house the railroad's terminal facilities. A town was platted on Way Key in 1859, and Parsons and Hale's General Store, which is now the Island Hotel, was built there in the same year. On March 1, 1861, the first train arrived in Cedar Key, just weeks before the Civil War began.
Civil War era
With the advent of the American Civil War in 1861, Confederate agents extinguished the light at Seahorse Key and removed its supply of sperm whale oil. The defense of Cedar Key was assigned to the Columbia and New River Rifles, two companies of the 4th Florida Infantry Regiment, under the command of Lt. Colonel M. Whit Smith. On July 3, 1861, four Federal war prize schooners appeared off Cedar Key. The schooners, originally captured by the USS Massachusetts off New Orleans, were under the command of U. S. Navy Lieutenant George L. Selden, nephew of former Treasurer of the United States William Selden, and manned by nineteen sailors. Col. Smith led his two rifle companies along with one six-pounder cannon twenty miles offshore on the steamer Madison and captured the schooners after firing two warning shots. With the recovery, Col. Smith and his men liberated fifteen Confederate sailors, recovered the vessels' valuable cargo of railroad iron and turpentine and effected the first capture of a U. S. Naval officer at sea during the war.
A local museum exhibit displays a reproduction of one of the first air conditioning installations. The system, with compressor and fans, was used in Cedar Key to ease the lot of malaria patients.
Cedar Key is home to the George T. Lewis Airport (CDK).
Hurricane Eta made one of its two landfalls in Florida at about 4 a.m. Thursday, November 10, 2020, near Cedar Key, as a tropical storm.
On August 30, 2023, Hurricane Idalia caused significant damage to Cedar Key as it headed towards Florida's Big Bend. Although not making a direct hit on the city, the storm brought heavy rains, winds, and storm surge levels that reached a record above high tide. Several businesses located on Dock Street were impacted by significant damage.
On the night of September 26, 2024, Hurricane Helene caused significant to major damage to Cedar Key as it headed towards Florida's Big Bend. It hit close enough to Cedar Key, to bring major floods, major wind gusts, heavy rain, and storm surge levels that reached a new record above high tide, surpassing Hurricane Idalia's storm surge.
Historic district and museum
Demographics
2010 and 2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+Cedar Key racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|678
|618
|96.58%
|89.96%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|9
|13
|1.28%
|1.89%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|1
|4
|0.14%
|0.58%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|0
|4
|0.00%
|0.58%
|-
|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)
|4
|18
|0.57%
|2.62%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|10
|30
|1.42%
|4.37%
|-
|Total
|702
|687
|
|
|-
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 687 people, 316 households, and 218 families residing in the city.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 702 people, 253 households, and 150 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 790 people, 411 households, and 244 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 686 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 97.47% White, 0.13% African American, 0.63% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.51% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.52% of the population.
In 2000, there were 411 households, out of which 14.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.7% were married couples living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.4% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.92 and the average family size was 2.42.
In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 13.2% under the age of 18, 4.8% from 18 to 24, 15.6% from 25 to 44, 40.1% from 45 to 64, and 26.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 54 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males.
In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $32,232, and the median income for a family was $41,190. Males had a median income of $27,375 versus $31,806 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,568. About 6.6% of families and 11.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.5% of those under age 18 and 9.9% of those age 65 or over.
Education
thumb|upright|Cedar Key Library
thumb|upright|left|[[Cedar Key School]]
The School Board of Levy County operates a K–12 school, Cedar Key School.
Library
Levy County provides Cedar Key with a local library branch. The Cedar Key Public Library is in the renovated, historic Schlemmer Rooming House.
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Bibliography
Further reading
External links
- Cedar Key Chamber of Commerce
- From the application for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
- At
- Cedar Key Airport