A guide to the historic homes of the Conch Republic

One of the more charming aspects of Key West is the city's obvious pride in its historic houses and museums. The irony of it is that they don't really go back that far -- the "oldest house" dates to 1829 -- probably because of the cobbled-together early architecture on the relatively remote island and the numerous hurricanes that have made hash of it.

By James R. Gray

May 2, 2004