Higgs Beach and the African Cemetery Memorial

Higgs Beach — officially Clarence S. Higgs Memorial Beach — is the beach Key West locals actually use: a relaxed stretch of sand and shade on Atlantic Boulevard, about fifteen minutes' walk from the southern end of Duval, with a wooden pier over the water, two playgrounds, tennis and volleyball courts, picnic pavilions and a beachside restaurant. The water is shallow and calm, with patches of rock and seagrass that hold small fish, and snorkelers often poke around the pier pilings on calm days. It opens early and stays open late into the evening, and it is a pleasant place for a sunrise walk, a midday swim or an evening drink with the sea breeze. But Higgs Beach also holds one of the most important historic sites in the Florida Keys. In 1860 the U.S. Navy intercepted three American-owned slave ships bound for Cuba and brought more than a thousand captive Africans to Key West, where the town housed and cared for them as best it could; nearly three hundred died, mostly of illness from the voyage, and were buried in unmarked graves at the edge of this beach. The graves were rediscovered in the early 2000s, and the African Cemetery memorial now marks the site with a striking design and interpretive panels that tell their story. Spend a few minutes there; it changes the way you see the beach. Nearby, the West Martello garden and the White Street Pier, with its AIDS memorial, make this corner of the island a quietly meaningful place. The caveats: the beach is narrow, it can collect seaweed in summer, and the sand is imported and periodically restored.

The African Cemetery story deserves time. The ships were captured under laws banning the international slave trade, and the Africans aboard — many of them children — were landed at Key West, sheltered in hastily built quarters near the fort, and cared for by islanders and the military while the federal government arranged their passage to Liberia. Despite those efforts, disease brought aboard the crowded ships killed nearly three hundred of them in the weeks that followed, and they were buried along the shore. Their resting place was largely forgotten until a ground survey located the burials, and the memorial dedicated afterward, with its names and history panels, is now a site of remembrance visited by schoolchildren and descendants' communities. It is one of the few places in the United States tied directly to the final years of the transatlantic slave trade.

Enjoying the beach: Higgs is a good choice for families because of the playgrounds and shade trees, and for anyone staying at the southern end of Old Town or along the Atlantic side who wants a quick swim without driving. The pier is a lovely spot at sunrise, and the calm water suits floating and gentle snorkeling around the pilings and rocks when visibility is good. There is parking along Atlantic Boulevard, though it fills on weekends, and the beach is an easy bike ride from Duval. The city lists the beach as open from early morning until late evening; bring water shoes for the rocky patches and reef-safe sunscreen.

Pairing: walk next door to the Key West Garden Club at West Martello Tower, a free garden inside the walls of a Civil War fort, and continue along the shore to the White Street Pier for the AIDS memorial and the views. Smathers Beach is a short bike ride east if you want a longer stretch of sand. For more of the island's history, combine Higgs with the Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, whose galleries include exhibits on the African Cemetery and the slave ship Henrietta Marie.