Perky is a
ghost town
A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...
in
Monroe County,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
, United States. It is located in the lower
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago 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 a ...
on
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 ...
near
mile marker
A milestone is a numbered marker placed on a route such as a road, railway, railway line, canal or border, boundary. They can indicate the distance to towns, cities, and other places or landmarks like Mileage sign, mileage signs; or they c ...
17 on
US 1
U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway System, United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort ...
(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 Ra ...
).
A post office called Perky was established in 1929, and remained in operation until 1942. The town was named for its founder,
R. C. Perky.
It is the site of the historic
Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower built by
Richter Clyde Perky in 1929. The tower was destroyed in 2017 by
Hurricane Irma
Hurricane Irma was an extremely powerful and devastating tropical cyclone that was the first Category 5 hurricane to strike the Leeward Islands on record, followed by Hurricane Maria, Maria two weeks later. At the time, it was considered ...
, and the original
fishcamp is now a
restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...
and lodge.
Geography
It is located at with an elevation of .
Perky, FL Community Profile
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References
Former populated places in Monroe County, Florida
Ghost towns in Florida
Sugarloaf Key
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