We visit Key West at least once a year, and while the island is small, there are so many things to do and see that we always do something different each time we go. On our visit last fall with friends, we wandered into The Oldest House in Key West, which also happens to be the oldest house in South Florida!
About The Oldest House in Key West Museum and Gardens
Located at 322 Duval Street in Key West, The Oldest House in Key West is a public museum and gardens, and is free to the public from 10 am to 4 pm every day except Sunday and Wednesday. It also has the oldest surviving Cook House in South Florida!
The Oldest House in Key West was built in the style of a New England Bahama House, which is from the Classic Revival style of architecture. Richard Cussans, who built the home, was a ship’s carpenter, and incorporated several maritime features into the design. The house has mortise and tenon joinery, a ship’s hatch in the master bedroom that raises the roof for ventilation. There are also horizontal wall boards which were built with Dade County Pine, which is now extinct!
The gardens in the back yard are important in their own right, being made up of many different types of indigenous plants and fruit trees, including lime and banana trees.
While Richard Cussans is credited with building the Oldest House in Key West, it was oddly built as a one story home in 1829 on Whitehead street and thought to have been moved to 322 Duval in 1836.
The house has survived several fires, of course its fair share of hurricanes – even the occupation of Union troops during the Civil War!
As I mentioned, The Oldest House in Key West also features the oldest Cook House in South Florida. In the 1800s, kitchens were kept separate from the main home due to the frequent occurrence of fires from the oven. As homes were built mainly of wood, a common kitchen fire could quickly spread and bring down an entire house.
The Cook House has what is called a “beehive oven” in the wall, which is believed to be the only beehive oven left intact in South Florida. The only other known beehive oven in the state of Florida lies in the Ximenez-Fatio house in St. Augustine.
While the home was built by Richard Cussans, it is most well known for being the home of Captain Francis Watlington and his family. Captain Francis Watlington was a sea captain engaged in maritime enterprises, but also a Harbor Master and a state legislator before joining the Confederate Navy in 1861. After the end of the Civil War, he returned to Key West, where he died in 1887.
The Oldest House in Key West is most well know for being the Watlington home because they owned the home until 1972, when the last member of the family to live there died. It was purchased in 1974 by Mrs. Robert Austin of Islamorada (a nearby Florida Keys island), who promptly handed the deed over to the Historic Florida Keys Foundation, who hired the Old Island Restoration Foundation to manage a restoration project in 1975.
As the Watlington family lived in the house right up until it was purchased by Mrs. Austin, the furnishings are original, including the Captain’s office on the back porch! It was a pretty amazing experience for this history nerd to be able to read an old captain’s log and see firsthand the tools of the trade of such a long-past era!
Inside the home we found much of the same, original decor and furnishings of the Watlington family.
It was strange to see such a simple, uncluttered home compared to houses we now live in.
The next time you’re down in Key West, I highly recommend that you pay a visit to The Oldest House in Key West! You really can’t beat free for such a cool look back into the history of South Florida!
Krissy says
April 10, 2014 at 11:13 amWhat a beautiful home (even after all these years). I love getting a bit of history about a place I’m visiting. We may be hitting up Key West this summer, so I will definitely have to put this on my To Do List!
Jenn says
April 10, 2014 at 5:36 pmIf you do, let me know! I would love to give you a list of great places and restaurants! 🙂
Robin (Masshole Mommy) says
April 10, 2014 at 12:07 pmChris and I love visiting places like this, so if we ever make it to Key West, this is a place we would definitely visit.
Louida says
April 10, 2014 at 12:50 pmI always wanted to visit Key West. I never knew much of the history there so thanks for sharing!
aimee fauci says
April 10, 2014 at 1:13 pmAn amazing piece of history and a really cool house… We take a lot for granted in our big houses we now live in.
Tracey says
April 10, 2014 at 2:07 pmWhat a beautiful home! So much history.
Christie says
April 10, 2014 at 2:26 pmLove Key West history. What a pretty house too!
Lindsey says
April 10, 2014 at 3:22 pmI’ll have to ask my brother if he has visited this. He’s in the coast Guard in Key West.
Jenn says
April 10, 2014 at 5:37 pmHe has probably walked right past it many times! We have been walking past it for years before I ever noticed that it was a museum that was open to the public!
Jaime says
April 10, 2014 at 3:23 pmThis is really cool! I’ve never been to Key West, but we love seeking out historical places whenever we travel. It’s so neat to see how people lived not so long ago.
brett says
April 10, 2014 at 7:47 pmwe are the same. haven’t been, but love to see historical places. gives us a real glimpse into history
Amy says
April 10, 2014 at 4:17 pmBeautiful pictures! I love how the have it set up just like it was! I love stuff like this!
Jenni E. {Sweet Pennies from Heaven} says
April 10, 2014 at 4:44 pmThis looks like a fantastic place to visit! So pretty, and I love all the old buildings. Anytime we visit someplace new, I love to check out the old historical places.
Karen says
April 10, 2014 at 4:51 pmThat looks like such a cool place to visit. I love historical spots like this. Very pretty pics too!
JEnnifer B. says
April 10, 2014 at 6:54 pmI love Key West so much and I have been to the oldest house too! So cool every single time.
Dawn Lopez says
April 10, 2014 at 8:15 pmOh so fun, I love exploring historical homes. I find it so intriguing. How neat is it that you can visit such a place! Gorgeous pics too!
Veronica says
April 10, 2014 at 8:21 pmI have been to Key West a few times but I have never gone to this house. It is quite interesting. I think I will make it a point to visit next time. Thanks for sharing
Jessica says
April 10, 2014 at 9:53 pmI feel like I haven’t been to Key West in SO long. The last time I went was years ago on a cruise. I wish I had explored more and enjoyed the history. I did have a delicious homemade Key Lime Pie on a stick that was seriously TO DIE FOR!
valmg says
April 10, 2014 at 10:25 pmI was thinking the same thing. I looked at the kitchen and can’t even imagine what it would be like to have one so simple and “uncluttered”.
Janel C. says
April 11, 2014 at 8:18 amJenn – absolutely stunning pictures! Thanks for the background and rich history of the museum and gardens. Key West is definitely a place I want to visit!
Debra says
April 11, 2014 at 9:07 amWhat a beautiful house. I love places like this when you can literally step back into time and see how people lived and what their surroundings were like. And yes, you can’t beat free!
Keikilani says
April 11, 2014 at 10:01 amThis looks so cool! I love historic places with rich history. It is amazing to look back at the things that were different.
Virginia says
April 11, 2014 at 10:51 amWhat a beautiful place to visit. You look great, by the way! I love visiting historical spots.
teresa mccluskey says
April 11, 2014 at 11:15 amNice! That bed is really cute too! I would love to visit this place!
Amanda says
April 11, 2014 at 12:31 pmWhat a cool place to visit! What a great post! Thanks for sharing!
Dina says
April 11, 2014 at 12:47 pmI’ve been to Key West but it’s been so long ago. I’d love to go again and visit this beautiful house.
Chrysa says
April 11, 2014 at 2:37 pmThat is so cool! I always love vising old houses and seeing that it was like in the “olden days”.
Rosey says
April 11, 2014 at 2:57 pmThat looks like a nice change of pace. I’d like it just a’cuz it’s in Key West. 😉
Krystal says
April 11, 2014 at 3:12 pmBeautiful photos. I can’t believe I’ve missed this place! We go to Key West at least once a year.
Christina S says
April 11, 2014 at 4:14 pmVery cool. We’re history nerds and love anything like this.
Melissa says
April 11, 2014 at 10:36 pmWow, this is amazing. Thank you for sharing all of these pictures! I love hearing about historical places.
Desiree Morris says
April 11, 2014 at 11:23 pmAhhh! I want to live in that house SO badly. It’s beautiful.
Erica says
April 12, 2014 at 9:39 amI’m in love with this house! I will definitely make a point of visiting if I’m ever there!
Jenn says
April 12, 2014 at 11:23 amI am glad you like the post! So many people – myself included – have no idea that there are FREE things to do in Key West!
Cassie says
April 13, 2014 at 10:40 pmThat is such a cool house to explore! I love that it’s free.
Karen Propes says
April 15, 2014 at 11:17 pmOh thank you so much for the great review. It’s hard to find gems like this while traveling. I love to get this kind of information. This house tells a lot of history. Historical sites are great, we have several in North Carolina and we always try to find this type of attraction to visit and enjoy it’s precious history. I have always taken pictures and keep a scrapbook which I share with my Granddaughter and plan on taking her to some of them. We need to pass history to our children to preserve it’s value.
Once again, thanks I have logged this in my What to Visit notebook.