Ramrod Key

Ramrod Key
The west side of Ramrod Key as seen from the Niles Channel Bridge
Ramrod Key
Ramrod Key (the Caribbean)
Geography
LocationGulf of Mexico
Coordinates24°39′24″N 81°24′48″W / 24.6568°N 81.4132°W / 24.6568; -81.4132
Administration
State
Florida
County
Monroe

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 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) 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. 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

  1. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ramrod Key
  2. ↑ "Ramrod Key". Key Names. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  3. ↑ Embassy Cruising Guide Florida, 6th edition: Waterways of Florida's East Coast, Keys, Okeechobee, and West Coast to Mobile Bay, Alabama. Ebooks2go, Incorporated. 2015. p. 691. ISBN 978-0-7436-1141-1. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Ramrod Key 2021: Best of Ramrod Key, FL Tourism". Tripadvisor. Retrieved October 13, 2021.