Welcome to
the Key West
Maritime Historical Society

Who we are: The Key West Maritime Historical Society is a non-profit educational and cultural society. We are dedicated to the study, preservation, and increased awareness of the rich maritime heritage of Key West and the Florida Keys. The KWMHS organized as a Florida not-for-profit corporation in 1981, and, in 1985, was granted 501(c)(3) status. The KWMHS is run by an all-volunteer board of directors.

What we do: The KWMHS sponsors public lectures, field trips, special events, and interpretive projects to increase public awareness and appreciation of maritime history. We also publish the quarterly Florida Keys Sea Heritage Journal – a periodical published quarterly and mailed directly to our members. (Back issues can be seen here on our Journal Archive page). The Sea Heritage Journal has been printed for over thirty years and encompasses subjects published nowhere else. It is an essential aid in learning how Key West the Florida Keys have come to be so special.

American Shoal Light ca. 1910