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Popular State Guides
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Wreckers' MuseumThe Wreckers’ Museum, situated at Duval Street in Key West, Florida, is best known for its extensive collection of nautical memorabilia, original antiques, documents, and artifacts pertaining to the wrecking era in Key West. This museum is the oldest house in South Florida and is appropriately named as the Oldest House Museum. It was established in 1829 by Francis Watlington, a renowned seafarer, and was occupied by the descendants of Watlington until the 1970s. This magnificent house, now converted to a museum, is presently owned and operated by the Old Island Restoration Foundation. This old New England Bahama House is an architectural gem. Its architecture is strongly influenced by the Colonial frame buildings of New England and incorporates several features from maritime architecture, including portholes and a ship's hatch designed for ventilation. Some of the major exhibits inside the museum include gold recovered from shipwrecks, model ships, wonderful murals, and a secluded cookhouse, featuring a beehive oven and vintage cooking utensils. The museum also features an elegant garden and many examples of 19th century furnishings at the rear of the house. The exhibit pavilion in the museum holds additional related documents of interest. At present, only six rooms of the museum are open to the public. These rooms are wonderfully furnished with 18th- and 19th-century antiques and impressive exhibits on the wrecking industry of the 1800s. The Wreckers Museum offers a glimpse of a slower, easier period of island’s history, and is a ‘must-see’ for the history and architecture enthusiasts.
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