Happy 200th Birthday, Florida Keys!

Florida Keys Traveler

July 3, 2023 marks the bicentennial "birthday" of the Florida Keys — and in this episode, we meet a Key West-born “Conch” who’s lived in the Keys for half of those 200 years.

Join host Elizabeth Harryman Lasley, who chats with 104-year-old Onelio Gonzalez, recently celebrating his milestone birthday in the continental United States’ southernmost island city.

He remembers the days when Ernest Hemingway resided in Key West, and when Harry S. Truman presided from the southernmost White House in the island city. And what was it like to ride Henry Flagler's Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad, completed in 1912 and stretching from Florida’s southern mainland throughout the Keys? How were pineapples involved?

Listen to some of our favorite insights and takeaways from this series, celebrating what makes the 125-mile-long Florida Keys island chain so unique. You might hear a highlight from a favorite episode.

For more details and travel inspiration, visit Fla-Keys.com. To call from the United States or Canada, dial 1 (800) FLA-KEYS or contact your travel advisor. Produced by Armchair Productions, the audio experts for the travel industry.