Matecumbe is a neighborhood within the village of

Islamorada Islamorada (also sometimes Islas Morada) is an incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands— Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe Key, Upper Matecumbe Key, Windley Key and Pla ...

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, Indi ...

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 ...

, United States. It is located in 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 ...

on the island of

Upper Matecumbe Key Upper Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys. U.S. 1 (or the Overseas Highway) crosses the key at approximately mile markers 79–83.5, between Windley Key and Lower Matecumbe Key. All of the key is within the Village of Islamorada ...

Geography

It is located at , its elevation .Matecumbe, FL Community Profile
/ref> Matecumbe consists of two islands (keys), Upper Matecumbe Key and Lower Matecumbe Key. The latter is where the settlement of Matecumbe is located, just south of Matecumbe Bight and adjacent to and just north of Matecumbe Harbor. The settlement was the location of one of the stations of the Overseas Railroad. The name Matecumbe refers to a region of area in the Upper Keys. It is the only place name in South Florida which dates from the 16th century and still designates the same or approximate location. The name appears frequently on Spanish maps, as it did in their records. The exact meaning of the name is unknown, but the suggestion that it was derived from the Spanish ''mata hombre'' is a weak one. When the term Matecumbe first appeared in use it was in a form very close to its present spelling and pronunciation. As was often the case in Florida, the name was applied interchangeably to the chief and to the tribe. This was one of the first of the Upper Keys to be permanently settled. Early homesteaders were so successful at growing pineapples in the rocky soil that at one time the island yielded the country's largest annual crop. However, foreign competition and the hurricane of 1935 killed the industry. Today, life centers on fishing and tourism, and the island is filled with bait shops, marinas, and charter-fishing boats. Pulitzer Prize-winning author

James A. Michener James Albert Michener ( or ; February 3, 1907 – October 16, 1997) was an American writer. He wrote more than 40 books, most of which were long, fictional family sagas covering the lives of many generations in particular geographic locales and ...

was in his sixties when he began traveling frequently to the Florida Keys. One result of those visits was the novel ''

Matecumbe Matecumbe is a neighborhood within the village of Islamorada in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located in the upper Florida Keys on the island of Upper Matecumbe Key Upper Matecumbe Key is an island in the upper Florida Keys. U ...

''.

References

Neighborhoods in Islamorada, Florida {{monroeCountyFL-geo-stub