Ramrod Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys. Originally named Roberts Island, Ramrod Key was renamed for a ship named Ramrod, which was wrecked on a reef south of there in the early nineteenth century.

Description

Until the construction 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 ...

in the 1920s, the only building on Ramrod was a post office that was alongside the train tracks. 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 ...

) crosses Ramrod Key at approximately mile markers 26–27.5, between Summerland Key and Middle Torch Key. Ramrod Key is a popular tourist site due to the short distance between the island and

Looe Key Looe Key is a coral reef located within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. It lies to the south of Big Pine Key. This reef is within a Sanctuary Preservation Area (SPA). Part of Looe Key is designated as "Research Only," an area which ...

. Current (2014) commercial enterprises of visitor interest include a dive shop-hotel-bar/restaurant complex, numerous sport fishing charters ,a bar/restaurant and miniature golf complex, a gas station-grocery, and a Cuban deli/grocery.

References

Islands of the Florida Keys Islands of Monroe County, Florida Islands of Florida {{monroeCountyFL-geo-stub