the Oldest
House
The Oldest House in South Florida, located at 322 Duval
St. in Key West, was built about 1829 and incorporates the
influences of colonial architecture found in the Caribbean
and New England. For decades, it was the home of Capt. Francis
Watlington, his wife, and nine daughters. Watlington was
a Customs Inspector, Lightship Captain, harbor pilot, and “wrecker” – one
of the Key West salvagers who raced to ships run aground
on the reefs, rescued their crew, and benefited from the
cargo aboard. Watlington operated the schooners Blackhawk
and Caroline as a salvager, and later ran the supply line
to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas.
The building is now operated by the Old Island Restoration
Foundation as a nonprofit museum featuring many original
furnishings, ship models, maritime artifacts, documents relating
to the activities of wreckers, and items recovered from Keys
waters. Visitors will see many fine pieces of furniture and
carpets, old paintings with nautical themes, and a unique
miniature 1850-style dollhouse fashioned after the “conch” style
houses of Key West and furnished in colonial and mid-Victorian
styles. There is also an interactive map showing the locations
of shipwrecks along the Keys.
In the rear of the house is a spacious, peaceful garden,
where benches invite visitors to sit and reflect. There,
they can see the only surviving Cook House in South Florida.
A pavilion spanning the rear of the garden contains additional
documents of interest.
Descendents of the Watlingtons lived here until the 1970s.
Mrs. Rosemary Austin, a neighbor and friend of the last residents,
gave this extraordinary property to the State of Florida.
The house has been maintained by OIRF as a historic home
museum since 1976. It is overseen by the Historic Florida
Keys Foundation.
The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday throughout
the year. For further information, call (305) 294-9501.
