"cedar key florida" Top 5 Page for this destination Cedar Key by doug48

cedar key is a collection of small islands on the gulf of mexico in levy county florida. cedar key is located at the western terminus of SR 24 twelve miles west of US 98 in north central florida. cedar key was originally inhabited by the deptford culture native american tribe around 500 BC. spanish explorers in the 17 th century named this cluster of islands las islas sabines, "islands of cedars". the cedar keys were once the hide outs of the pirates jean lafitte and captain kidd. in 1839 general zachary taylor built fort # 4 on cedar key during the second seminole war. the seminoles were driven south into the everglades and in 1842 cedar key was opened to homesteading. by 1860 cedar key became an important port that shipped cedar lumber to northern pencil manufacturers. in 1864 cedar key was occupied by union forces during the civil war. after the civil war the florida rail road connected cedar key to fernandina on the east coast which had significant effect on the development of the area. during this time the eberhard faber and the eagle pencil companies built pencil factories in cedar key. in 1886 the economy began to decline when henry plant's florida west coast rail road bypassed cedar key in favor of the town of tampa. in 1896 a hurricane hit cedar key and destroyed most of the town. after the hurricane most of the population left the area and cedar key was in a state of decline until the 1960's. today the economy of cedar key depends on clam aquaculture and tourism. cedar key has a vibrant downtown with a number of good restaurants and bars. cedar key is known for it's excellent salt water fishing and nearby wildlife refuges. cedar key is a very nice "off the beaten path" place to visit in northwest central florida.