Totten Key is an island of the upper

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

Biscayne National Park Biscayne National Park is an American national park located south of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County. The park preserves Biscayne Bay and its offshore barrier reefs. Ninety-five percent of the park is water, and t ...

. It is in

Miami-Dade County, Florida Miami-Dade County is a County (United States), county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the most populous county in ...

. It is located in southern

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...

, just west of

Old Rhodes Key Old Rhodes Key is an island north of the upper Florida Keys in Biscayne National Park. It is in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It is located just north of Broad Creek in the lower part of Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteri ...

History

It was probably named for General

Joseph Totten Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...

who was

Chief of Engineers The Chief of Engineers is a principal United States Army staff officer at The Pentagon. The Chief advises the Army on engineering matters, and serves as the Army's topographer and proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs. ...

for the U.S. Army. In 1848, Totten was in charge of a survey of the Florida coast concentrating on Biscayne Bay, with

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a Confederate general during the American Civil War, towards the end of which he was appointed the overall commander of the Confederate States Army. He led the Army of Nort ...

as a subordinate. U.S. Coast Survey chart #68, Florida Reefs, Key Biscayne to Carysfort Reef (1858) has Totten's Key."Key Names" Florida Keys Gazetteer

References

Islands of the Florida Keys Uninhabited islands of Miami-Dade County, Florida Biscayne National Park Islands of Florida {{monroeCountyFL-geo-stub