Pigeon Key

Pigeon Key is a historic district on a small island off the Florida coast with eleven preserved buildings and three structures connected to the mainland by the old Seven Mile Bridge. The island covers about 5 acres and shows how railroad workers lived and worked in this remote location during the early 20th century.

The island began as a worker settlement between 1908 and 1912 during the construction of the railroad to Key West, with over 400 people living here and working on this major engineering achievement. After the construction project ended, the island changed its function several times before eventually becoming a historic site.

The site preserves the memory of workers who lived here during railroad construction and is now maintained by the Pigeon Key Foundation, which shares with visitors what daily life was like during that era. The remaining buildings and artifacts tell the story of the people who inhabited this remote location.

To visit the island, guests can take the ferry service that departs regularly from the mainland near Marathon. The old bridge is also open to pedestrians, providing an alternative way to reach the site.

From 1968 through the 1980s, the University of Miami used the island as a research station to study tropical marine ecosystems and collect data. This scientific period produced important environmental knowledge about the region, though it remains less known today.