A Brief History of Frances Street

524 Frances Street in 1965

A Brief History of Frances Street

By Mary Haffenreffer

One of the earliest settlers of Key West, William Whitehead, surveyed and mapped out Frances Street in February of 1829. At the time it was probably nothing but uncleared tropical scrub, with not enough nutrients to sustain a cow. The most accepted theory of the name’s origin is that “Frances” was the daughter of John W. C. Fleming, another early settler.

Known in Spanish as “Calle Francia,” Whitehead’s vision of Frances Street appears on the 1884 Bird’s Eye View Map showing the early grand homes built by John T. Sawyer and John Roberts among others. They were built – many by shipwrights - without building permits or HARC approval, but we’re lucky enough to have them “grandfathered in”. Local artist Linda Todhunter has recently completed a restoration of the Bird’s Eye View Map that’s bright, crisp and readable. The prints are available at High Wire Framing on Truman Avenue and Key West Light Gallery on Duval Street.

We may boast that most of the illustrious old families, the scions of commerce and industry – the deliciously lavish, the happily unsuspecting, the simple, the thoroughly difficult, the perfectly pious, the naughty, the notorious – all ended up in the Frances Street area, some earlier than others, because this is where in 1847 the City purchased the greater part of what is now the City Cemetery. From time to time it was enlarged as land became available in the outskirts of Key West. To this day a sense of eternal peace pervades for those walking or bicycling through or past the cemetery where no “slow down” sign need be posted – it goes without saying.

The Tax Appraiser’s 1960s photos of houses, viewable on the library website

www.keyslibraries.org, are worth viewing. You can also go to http://www.flickr.com and type in your address. Most Old Town homes can be found there.Included with the images are legal descriptions, street addresses (when known), and approximate construction dates derived from the Historic Sites Survey produced by the City of Key West. The photo site is still a work in progress, but the entire area of the Frances Street Neighborhood Association is complete.

If this piques your curiosity for more information, stop by the History Room of the Public Library for a conversation with Tom Hambright. He’ll surely be able to pull out old maps and photos of your area of interest. He is a cornucopia of hard factual information and colorful local lore.

For a more information on Key West Historic Architecture read this interesting piece at http://www.rudymolinet.com/key-west-houses.html