The Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower, also known as the Perky Bat Tower, is a historic site in

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It is located a mile northwest of

U.S. Route 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making i ...

Lower Sugarloaf Key Lower Sugarloaf Key is the lower arm of an island known as Sugarloaf Key in the lower Florida Keys about east of Key West. U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway) crosses the key at about mile markers 16.5–17.5. Due to the routing of U.S. Route 1 ...

at mile marker 17. On May 13, 1982, it was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

. The tower was blown down during

Hurricane Irma Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread destruction across its path in September 2017. Irma was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Maria two ...

in 2017.

History

The tower was built in 1929 by Richter Clyde Perky, a fish lodge owner, to control the

mosquito Mosquitoes (or mosquitos) are members of a group of almost 3,600 species of small flies within the family Culicidae (from the Latin ''culex'' meaning " gnat"). The word "mosquito" (formed by ''mosca'' and diminutive ''-ito'') is Spanish for "li ...

problem in the Lower Keys. However, when the

bat Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...

s were put in, they supposedly flew away, never to return. The tower was built from plans purchased from a Charles Campbell of Texas, an early pioneer of bat studies. The Hygiostatic Bat Roost, as Campbell called it, was intended to be a roost for bats that would eat the mosquitoes which spread

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. According to at least some local folklore, the Skunk ape was responsible for some early damage to the structure and for driving off some of the bats.

Today

Fallen remains of Sugar Loaf Florida bat tower

Two Campbell bat towers are still standing (out of an original fourteen worldwide) in the United States: one in

Comfort, Texas Comfort is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Kendall County, Texas, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 2,363. Comfort was founded by German emigrants on the western end of the Texas-German ...

; and one at the Shangri-La Gardens in

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...

. At least one of the Texas towers has been internally reconstructed so that bats currently roost in it. The ruins of a fourth Campbell tower, in

Temple Terrace Temple Terrace is an incorporated city in northeastern Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, adjacent to Tampa. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 26,690. It is the third and smallest incorporated municipality in Hillsb ...

, Florida, burned in 1979 and now consists of the concrete base and legs. Temple Terrace is in the process of rebuilding their 1924 tower. The Sugarloaf Bat Tower was toppled over on September 10, 2017, in the devastating winds of

. It has not yet been decided whether it will be repaired or re-erected.

Cultural references

*The Bat Tower is used as a setting in the

Tim Dorsey Tim Dorsey (born January 25, 1961) is an American novelist. He is known for a series starring Serge A. Storms, a mentally disturbed vigilante antihero who rampages across Florida enforcing his own moral code against a variety of low-life criminal ...

novel ''

Torpedo Juice Torpedo juice is American slang for an alcoholic beverage, first mixed in World War II, made from pineapple juice and the 180-proof grain alcohol fuel used in United States Navy torpedo motors. Various poisonous additives were mixed into the fuel ...

''. *Mentioned in the novel ''American Gods'' by

Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...

. *Mentioned in the novel ''Gumbo Limbo'' by Tom Corcoran.

References

External links

Florida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs

Monroe County listings
*{{HABS , survey=FL-193 , id=fl0142 , title=Perky Bat Tower, Airport Road, Key West, Monroe County, FL , photos=3 , data=5 , cap=1 , supp=yes

Bat roosts Towers completed in 1929 Buildings and structures in Monroe County, Florida History of Monroe County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Monroe County, Florida Tourist attractions in the Florida Keys Historic American Buildings Survey in Florida Towers in Florida Sugarloaf Key 1929 establishments in Florida