Ramrod Key

Island in the lower Florida Keys, United States

24°39′24″N 81°24′48″W / 24.6568°N 81.4132°W / 24.6568; -81.4132Administration

United States

StateFloridaCountyMonroe

Ramrod Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys.^[1]^[2]^[3] 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^[4] ,a bar/restaurant and miniature golf complex, a gas station-grocery, and a Cuban deli/grocery.

References

^ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Ramrod Key
^ "Ramrod Key". Key Names. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
^ 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.
^ "Ramrod Key 2021: Best of Ramrod Key, FL Tourism". Tripadvisor. Retrieved 2021-10-13.