Duck Key is an island 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 territori ...

, in the middle Florida Keys. It is part of the

Duck Key, Florida Duck Key is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Monroe County, Florida, United States, on an island of the same name in the middle Florida Keys. The CDP also includes the neighboring island of Conch Key. As of the 2020 c ...

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the count ...

. The CDP also includes the neighboring island of

Conch Key Conch () is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails. Conch shells typically have a high spire and a noticeable siphonal canal (in other words, the shell comes to a noticeable point at both ends). In North Ame ...

History

The key was the site of a salt manufacturing operation in the 1820s & 1830s. Occupation of the island ceased after the

Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 The Great Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 was the most intense Atlantic hurricane to make landfall on record by pressure, with winds of up to 185 mph (297 km/h). The fourth tropical cyclone, third tropical storm, second hurricane, and sec ...

and did not resume until the key was connected to the highway by a causeway in 1953. J.W. Norie, in his Piloting Directions for the Gulf of Florida, The Bahama Bank & Islands (1828) states: "Duck Key - Some two miles (3 km) long, low, rocky, & covered with mangroves; some small patches of good land with a little timber. This island formerly saltworks but they were transferred latterly to Key West, owned by Mr. Howe, who is also possessor of this Key." Hawk's Cay Resort is currently located here, and the island is sometimes known by that name. Noted Michigan Senate leader, Emil Lockwood, retired in Duck Key, where he served in many civic and political capacities until his death in 2002.

Geography

Duck Key is located oceanside of U.S. 1 (or the

Overseas Highway The Overseas Highway is a highway carrying U.S. Route 1 (US 1) through the Florida Keys to Key West. Large parts of it were built on the former right-of-way of the Overseas Railroad, the Key West Extension of the Florida East Coast Rail ...

), at approximately mile marker 61, between

and

Grassy Key Grassy Key, Florida, is an island in the middle Florida Keys. It is located on U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway), near mile markers 57—60, below the Conch Keys. It has an area of 3.65 km², with a population of 974 as of the census 2000. ...

References

{{authority control Islands of the Florida Keys Islands of Monroe County, Florida Islands of Florida