Indian Key and John Housman

Indian Key, located midway between Key West and Miami, is in the busiest shipwreck area on the reef. Originally it rivaled Key West as a wrecking center and, in 1824, a store was erected that supplied the wreckers with equipment, while the wreckers built houses on the island as well as a hotel to accommodate people they saved.

In 1831, Jacob Housman, a famous wrecker from Key West, purchased Indian Key for $5000, including the store and the hotel.  Housman had gained a reputation for being the most dishonest wrecking captain on the reef and had moved out of Key West in order to escape the city’s merchants, lawyers and political leaders who disliked him.  In 1835, he submitted a petition to the Territorial Legislative Council asking that Monroe County, which included Key West and Miami, be split into two counties with the boundary line at Bahia Honda.  His petition was granted and the new county, named Dade, included all of the middle and upper Keys as well as a large section of the mainland.  Indian Key was designated as the county seat and Housman built a courthouse to preside over wrecking cases in the Upper Keys, which exempted Housman from the court in Key West.

Jacob Housman’s finances began to decline right after the Seminole Wars when settlers left Indian Key, fearing for their lives.  By March 1840, he was out of money and was forced to mortgage the entire island and all the buildings.  Within a year, Housman was dead, reportedly killed in an accident while working as a seaman on a wrecking vessel.

The Wreckers

Wrecking Vessels and Equipment

The American Lighthouse System

Indian Key and Jacob Housman

Famous People in the Industry