Cabbage Key: An Island's Chronicle

/From the Archives

Southwest Florida, 1936

​Alan and Gratia Rinehart were excited about the future of Cabbage Key, known in 1936 as Palmetto Key.

They had just purchased the private island located off the west coast of Florida. A winter vacation home and a marine research facility were being planned. Containment pools and a lagoon to study fish were being constructed. A channel and turn basin were dredged. Construction of their winter estate was underway, but the future of the island would quickly become uncertain.

Cabbage Key - The History of an Island

This is an informal account of the people and events that shaped the key into today’s famous island destination, where millions of visitors have escaped the world at this off-the-grid location.

Get to know the early inhabitants who were instrumental in shaping Cabbage Key, told through firsthand accounts from people who lived on and around the small island.

Historic photos, documents, and descriptive narratives help paint a picture of what life was like for folks on this isolated island paradise.

Come along and share the adventure!