Key West Historic Cemetery

The Key West Cemetery is one of the most fascinating free things to do on the island, and one of the most overlooked. It sits in the middle of Old Town, nineteen acres bounded by quiet residential streets, and it is estimated to hold between 80,000 and 100,000 people — several times the island's living population. It was founded in 1847, after a hurricane in October 1846 washed out the original beachside graveyard and scattered coffins through the town, and the city moved its dead to this higher ground. Because the coral rock is hard to dig and the water table high, many burials are above ground, in stacked whitewashed vaults that give the cemetery its look of a small, crowded city. Walking its lanes is a lesson in island history: there is a fenced plot for sailors killed when the battleship USS Maine exploded in Havana harbor in 1898; a memorial to the Cuban exiles and patriots who shaped Key West; Jewish and Catholic sections; the graves of wreckers, cigar makers, sponge captains and Bahamian families; and the famous epitaphs, including the tombstone that reads simply "I told you I was sick." Chickens scratch among the graves, iguanas sun on the vaults, and the light in the late afternoon is beautiful. The cemetery is still active, with about a hundred burials a year, so be respectful and give way to mourners. The free self-guided tour map at the main gate is the key to the visit. The honest caveat: there is little shade, so avoid midday in summer, bring water and wear a hat.

The cemetery tells the story of who built Key West. The early Anglo-American settlers and their descendants lie alongside Bahamian immigrants who came to work in wrecking, sponging and fishing; Cuban cigar workers who arrived after the wars of independence and gave the island its Latin character; Jewish merchants; Navy men; and the generations of Conchs who stayed. The USS Maine plot, with its memorial statue of a sailor, honors crew members buried here after the 1898 explosion that helped spark the Spanish-American War — the same disaster investigated at the Custom House on Front Street. Elsewhere, family plots hold elaborate ironwork, carved angels and photographs set into the stone, and some vaults show the patina of more than a century and a half of salt air.

Planning a visit: the main entrance and the sexton's office are at the corner of Angela and Margaret Streets, and the self-guided tour map is available at the front entrance. The gates open early in the morning and close in the early evening, a little later in summer. Guided tours can be arranged through the sexton's office, and local preservation groups run occasional guided cemetery strolls in season that are well worth catching if your dates line up. Allow an hour to wander with the map; history buffs and photographers can easily spend longer. Remember it is a working cemetery: keep voices down, do not sit on the vaults, and leave space for funerals.

Fit and pairing: the cemetery is a short walk from the middle of Duval Street and a few minutes from the Historic Seaport, so it slots into any Old Town day. It pairs naturally with the Custom House museum for the USS Maine story, with Fort East Martello for more of the island's darker lore, and with an evening ghost tour, after which the headstones read very differently. It suits history buffs, photographers and curious first-timers; families with children who can be respectful in a burial ground will find it memorable.