KEYS HISTORY: SNAILS & GARDEN FACED PRESSURES ON STOCK ISLAND

Note from the editor: This is the second installment in a two-part series about Stock Island.

The Stock Island Tree Snail used to be indigenous to both Stock Island and Key West. It is characterized as a large conical snail with a shell that is striped in purple-brown and white.

In 1978, the snail was placed on the endangered species list. About 200 snails were discovered on Stock Island in 1983, near the golf course, botanical garden, and nearby residences. Only 50 to 100 snails remained by 1986. Thirteen snails were found in a 1991 survey.

By 1995, snails had been eradicated from the Big Cypress National Preserve and the Everglades, where they had been introduced in the late 1980s. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2009 snail management plan states that private hobbyists successfully introduced snails to locations in the Lower and Upper Keys in an effort to prevent the Stock Island Tree Snail from going extinct.

The main cause of their extinction, like that of many other species, was habitat loss. The construction of a 137-acre golf course on Stock Island was one of the major offenders. On February 9, 1923, an article in the Miami Herald discussed the concept of introducing the links: It is well known that many tourists who said they would have stayed here for the rest of the season if they could have played golf have traveled to Miami or to Havana on the other side of the gulf to do so.

For a century, the golf course has been a major attraction on Stock Island. A botanical garden was the next step in the island’s growth as a travel destination. At first, six acres were reserved. The garden’s size has varied over the years, ranging from 55 acres, when it was at its greatest, to its present 15.2 acres.

The Federal Relief Administration Agency created the garden in 1936, according to a CAP Assessment plan authored by Walter S. Marder. The Key West Citizen published an article on December 10, 1934, which is cited in the same report: This morning, the first plants for the Key West Botanical Garden were planted next to the golf course, where the garden will eventually be built.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA), the same government organization that created the Key West Aquarium, was responsible for the botanical garden’s realization. The creation of the garden is being made possible by three different works progress administration projects totaling $39,685.10, according to an item published in the Miami Herald on November 29, 1935.

On February 23, 1936, the Key West Botanical Garden had its grand opening. The last one would not be the last. The Miami News published the following announcement on February 24, 1936: Two Cuban gunboats arrived before daybreak today, marking the start of Key West’s Le Samana Alegre, or Week of Joy, which will last the remainder of the week. The Key West Botanical Garden, a WPA effort, will formally open to the public Thursday afternoon, marking the start of this week of joy.

Since then, things have not been easy for the botanical garden. In an article about the Stock Island Botanical Garden that appeared in the Key West Citizen on December 8, 1939, Mayor Albury drew attention to the fact that all WPA collaboration would end on January 1. Mrs. Norberg Thompson and Mrs. J.D. MacMuller, the Garden Club president, showed up and requested that either the project be continued under city supervision or that the plants, which are thought to be of significant worth, be conserved in some way.

Mrs. William Pheland was named as the head of the botanical garden during the WPA’s management in a follow-up article published in the Key West Citizen on December 20, 1939. The article claims that she personally rooted the plants in her backyard before moving them to the Garden as they emerged from the ground. The narrative also indicated that the city should think about acquiring the Botanical Gardens, which are reportedly a popular tourist destination and might eventually become self-liquidating.

In order to make room for water storage tanks, the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority purchased portions of the botanical garden in the 1940s, leaving it mainly deserted. In order to add nine holes to the golf course and to construct an emergency military hospital during World War II, other areas were sold. The garden formerly covered 55 acres, but by 1961, just 11 acres were left.

In 1961, the botanical garden held its second grand opening following rehabilitation. The garden suffered from neglect once more throughout the years. In 1972, the Key West Garden Club took over its management, and on April 12, 1987, the garden had its third grand opening.

The garden was managed by the Key West Botanical Garden Society Inc., which was established in 1991. When the visitor center and restrooms were erected in 2001–2002, the garden’s contemporary appearance started to take shape. Another 4.2 acres were acquired in 2005. Today, 15.2 acres make up the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden.

On the island, other attractions were built in addition to the golf course and botanical garden. It was also the location for racing for many years. Greyhound and stock car races were held on the circuits of the Key West Kennel Club and the Stock Island Raceway. There used to be two drive-in theaters on the island, but that proved to be too many. The Riviera Drive-In, which was short-lived, opened in 1957 and closed in 1961.

The Islander Drive-In, the more enduring of the two, was open from 1952 until the summer of 1984. Jimmy Buffett’s song Grapefruit Juicy Fruit is a tribute to the drive-in. He went on a date there in the 1970s, and after a few beers, one thing led to another.