The Haunting Past of Bone Cay, or Key West

One of the most fascinating aspects of Key West is its name. It sounds simple: it’s the westernmost of the Florida Keys, so it’s called Key West. That would be putting the chicken before the egg, however.

What’s in a Name?

If you look for the word key in a dictionary, you’ll have to look pretty far down the list of definitions to find one that describes a small island. You’ll probably also find that it’s generally only used to describe some very specific islands off the coast of Florida.

For a word nerd like me, that’s something worth looking into. Fortunately for the less eccentric, the explanation is pretty simple...maybe.

One theory is that when Ponce de Leon first toured Florida searching for the Fountain of Youth, he came across an island with a bleached limestone formation and called it Key West.

Key West translated to English is Bone Cay. English-speakers who heard about the island thought it sounded like Key West. Since it was the westernmost inhabitable island in a long chain, it somehow made sense in English.

Due to a bizarre coincidence between cross-cultural linguistics and geography, the Florida Keys as a whole became a thing. Key West turning into Key West was just the start.

Since the name Key West made sense, it only made sense to call the other links in that island chain keys. Thus, the islands off of Florida are keys while others are just islands.

But that’s not the full story. Key West has a dark and haunted past. Bone Cay is an accurate name, and in some way, perhaps the island was doomed to be haunted.

A Darker Possibility

Some say it’s the limestone on the island that caused Ponce de Leon to give Key West its morbid name, but others argue that it was the island’s equally morbid past.

That Old Horror Trope

Southwest Florida had been occupied by the Calusa tribe, also known as the Shell Indians. They were known for using shells as tools, containers, even weapons. Everywhere they lived, the Calusa would leave behind massive piles of shells.

The earliest contacts between the Calusa and Europeans was fraught with conflict. They were a fiercely proud and territorial people.

According to legend, the Calusa tribe used Key West as a communal graveyard. You know what they say about building on top of ancient Indian burial mounds…

It is said that when Ponce de Leon first set foot on Key West, he was greeted by a grim sight: human bones. These were presumably the earthly remains of the Calusa people.

The legendary explorer was looking for the Fountain of Youth, but instead found an island of death.

A Shell Game

In another interesting twist, Key Westers today are known as Conchs (pronounced konks).

This term derives from the late 18th century. It was a derogatory slang term for English loyalists who migrated to the Bahamas after the American Revolution.

The conch is a shellfish, common in the waters of the Bahamas as well as the Florida Keys. We’re not sure why this particular shellfish was used as a derogatory term, but we’ll chalk it up to one of history’s happy accidents.

Somehow through the years, that term found a beloved home in Key West. The derogatory name became a badge of honor. If you’re born there, you’re a Conch. If you move there, you have to live there for seven years to earn the title of Fresh Water Conch.

A Comical Act of Defiance

In 1982, the US Border Patrol set up a blockade on Highway 1, which connects the Florida Keys to the mainland. It was an inconvenience and a blow to Key West’s tourism industry.

In protest, Key West Mayor Dennis Wardlow vowed to secede from the Union. The following day, he founded a new nation, the Conch Republic, and did indeed secede.

Approximately one minute later, he surrendered to the Navy Admiral in Key West. It was the shortest and most civil of history’s civil wars, and very indicative of the culture of Key West.

To this day, you can find Conch Republic flags displayed around Key West. It’s a symbol of the independent lifestyle led by its residents.

And so, an island possibly named after the bones of so-called Shell Indians is now proudly occupied by shell people in a self-proclaimed shell nation.

It may have been limestone outcroppings that gave Bone Cay its name, but I prefer the alternative version. It’s got style, it’s got history, and it’s got linguistic oddities.

Additionally, it does help to explain why Key West is so haunted.