Biscayne National Park: Historic Resource Study, National Park Service
Brown Leynes J and Cullison D. 1998. Biscayne National Park: Historic Resource Study, National Park Service. Historic Resource Study. National Park Service. Southeast Regional Office/CLI Database
This Historic Resource Study (HRS) identifies the various historic resources within Biscayne National Park, establishes and documents the historic contexts associated with the Park’s cultural resources, and evaluates the extent to which existing resources represent those contexts. It provides a thematic framework for the park’s cultural resources, outlining historical and anthropological themes that can be more fully developed in future studies and reports. The competed HRS will serve as a tool for future site planning, resource management, and the continuing development of interpretive programs at the Park. It will complement other cultural resource studies being prepared for the Park, such as the Cultural Resource Management Plan, and Archaeological Overview and Assessment, and other, more specialized archaeological, historical, and ethnographic surveys. The HRS Provides an overview of the prehistory and history of the Biscayne Bay area in Chapter Two, “Background History.” This chapter outlines the geologic and human history of the Florida Keys, including the occupation of South Florida by Native American groups and early settlement of the Biscayne Bay area by American citizens. The chapter refers to all known and potential cultural resources, primarily archaeological sites and structural ruins, within the Park, but it does not attempt to evaluate the significance of these resources. The third chapter, “Recreational Development of Miami and Biscayne Bay, 1896-1945,” focuses on the Park’s historic architectural resources. The chapter outlines the evolution of the Miami area into a resort community and examines the development of a private resort on Boca Chita Key. It also identifies and evaluates, using National Register criteria, the extant historic structures within the Park, all of which are located on Boca Chita Key, and how well they represent the historic context associated with recreational development of the Biscayne Bay area. Few historic buildings survive in the Park. The subtropical climate, hurricanes, and the accidental and purposeful actions of humans have all contributed to the destruction of man-made structures on the keys. The historic resources of Biscayne National Park include a complex of stone and concrete structures built on Boca Chita Key between 1937 and 1940 by mark Honeywell, founder of Honeywell Industries, as a private resort. The only other historic structure within the boundary of the Park is the Fowey Rocks Lighthouse, which is owned by the United States Coast Guard and therefore has not been evaluated in this study. A brief description of the lighthouse has been included as appendix D.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Brown Leynes, Jennifer; Cullison, David
- Date of Issue
- 1998-01
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- BISC
- Keywords
- August Geiger, Biscayne National Monument, Boating, Boca Chita, Boca Chita Key, Camping, Carl Fisher, City of Islandia, Cocolobo Cay Club, Committee of One Hundred, Coral Reefs, Depression Era Recreation, Diving, Early Florida History, Elliott Key, Environmental Science, Florida Keys, Florida Land Boom, Henry Flagler, High Society, Hurricane Damage, Illegal Aliens, Illegal Drugs, John D. Gifford, Key Biscayne, Key Largo, Lighthouse, Mark C. Honeywell, Miami Beach History, Miami History, Overseas Railroad, Preservation of Natural Environment, Private Resorts, Prohibition Era, Recreation, Revolutionaries in Cuba, Salvage, Sea Life, Shipwrecks, Smuggling, Soldier Key, South Florida History, Spite Highway, Upper Keys Improvement Association, Vacation Resorts, Wrecking