In Key West city, in southwestern Florida, within the continental United States

 Ernest Hemingway, the legendary American author, admired Key West. He called it the best place he'd ever seen, praising its flowers, tamarind trees, guava trees, and coconut palms. Hemingway lived in Key West and published several works there, including A Farewell to Arms and Death in the Afternoon. His former house on Whitehead Street has been turned into a museum and is open to the public for daily walking tours.

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(in Key West city, the seat of Monroe County in southwestern Florida, the southernmost city within the continental United States.) It lies about 100 miles (160 km) from the mainland on a sand and coral island about 4 miles (6.5 km) long and 1.5 miles (2.4 km) wide in the western Florida Keys.) The name is an English corruption of Cayo Hueso (“Bone Islet”), the name given to it by Spanish explorers who found human bones there. In 1815, the Spanish crown granted the island to a Spanish army officer, Juan Pablo Salas, who sold it to American businessman John Simonton in 1822. That year, the island was occupied by U.S. forces under Matthew C. Perry, and a naval depot was soon established by David Porter as a base of operations against pirates. (In 1886, a fire destroyed much of the town, which was subsequently rebuilt.)

+ The city’s early economy was based on fishing, salvaging shipwrecks, and cigar making. Throughout its history, Key West has been a center of military activity. It played an important role in the Spanish-American War (1898), and a U.S. naval air station has long been nearby. The railroad arrived in 1912, but was destroyed by a hurricane in 1935. It was replaced by the Overseas Highway (opened 1938), which connected the keys by 42 bridges (including one 7 miles [11 km] long) over vast expanses of water. The independent nature of Key West’s citizens was demonstrated in April 1982 when they protested the federal government’s imposition of a roadblock on the Overseas Highway (to search for illegal drugs) by staging a mock secession from the United States. The roadblock was removed, and the success of the self-declared Conch Republic has since been celebrated with an annual festival. (Tourism and fishing are the basis of the city’s modern economy.)

+ Key West possesses a unique blend of Cuban, West Indian, Bahamian, and American atmosphere. The city is known for its architecture, particularly its many 19th-century wooden homes, and as a haven for writers, artists, and those preferring less conventional lifestyles. (The home of Ernest Hemingway (shown here) has been preserved.) Key West lies within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, created in 1990. Dry Tortugas National Park (1992) is about 70 miles (115 km) west. Fort Zachary Taylor State Historic Site and the Key West Aquarium are in the city. The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum displays shipwreck artifacts, and the Key West Shipwreck Historeum includes a re-creation of a shipwreck and salvage.(The Hemingway Days Festival is held annually in July.)