Key West Cemetery

I can’t believe there is supposedly over 100,000 people buried here! That’s more than the population those living currently in Key West.
Originally the cemetery was established in the before the current 1847 established date, but a massive hurricane in late 1846 took the original buried bodies and washed them ashore on sand dunes and in nearby forest where they were scattered from the aftermath. The hurricane unearthed them. Many of those were slaves brought over from Africa who perished on their dreadful voyage.
Since then — similar to New Orleans due to the high water table — they have many mausoleums scattered about the cemetery. It is my understanding that these were also implemented due to the overcrowding of burials below the ground.
For what I can say about this cemetery — it is full of history and fascinating people. The grave stone have a lot of funny sayings on them. One said, ‘I told you I was sick!” The man was 50 years old.
Some of those who were lost in the sinking of the USS Maine in 1898 in the Havana Harbor are buried here. Others from the Cuban revolution of 1868 are also interred here. The original namesake of the ‘Sloppy Joe’ Russell who was a rumrunner is here too.
You’ll see the occasional chicken and iguana. Those are pretty common for the area.
With its extensive history also comes with the varying stories. Even though I didn’t have the privilege to do so; I highly recommend taking one of their guided tours to show you around the notable graves that way you can pick up more as you go along other than stumbling upon the things like I did. I am sure I left a lot unmissed for not doing so.
When I return to Key West — I definitely plan on returning for a more proper visit.

This place is painful and full of stories. Make sure and add this to your vacation it is one of the most unique places in the world. Free but needs some financial help to restore the broken stones. I will be making this a frequent stop.

Key West Cemetery is most likely not on many people’s itineraries when they visit the island, but this was certainly a unique cemetery and location to check out. Pretty large and lots of interesting graves and markers, most still in good and readable condition!
There are self-​guided walking tour maps available online and at their office. For me, it felt like I was in a completely different world when going to the cemetery.

This is such an interesting cemetery. On my first visit here I initially thought, «well how could large could it be»? The cemetery is extremely large– way larger than I ever imagined.
Most of the grave markets are still in readable condition. You literally could spend hours walking along reading about the lives of the individuals who are resting here. So many stories there to be told.
It’s very serene in that part of town. It’s minutes from Duval, but it feels like you’re in another world. Makes perfect sense, I guess.
I would take advantage of the guided tours available online. I didn’t realize until after that there are maps of the cemetery, so make sure to get that before you go to make the trek even more enjoyable.

While I’ve been here on more occasions than I can count, I have to be in the right mood to enjoy visiting the cemetery. In the latest edition of «Stating the Obvious,» it’s a little morbid… even if the Key West Cemetery is one of the most interesting, dare I say, humorous, cemeteries one can visit in the United States. Consider two of the more famous epitaphs to be found in here:
«I told you I was sick»
«I’m just resting my eyes»
Making dying funny; that pretty much sums up the old irreverent nature of Key West, before it became a haven for rich Midwesterners willing to spend $ 999/​night on hotels. Though much of that older, grittier Key West has been erased, at least it can still be found in the cemetery. I like that not all of the gravesites are gleaming marble palaces — many of them are, but there are also many that are cracked and overgrown… a testament to the extremely harsh climate of the Florida Keys.
My favorite part of the cemetery is the burial plot that houses some of the soldiers from the infamous USS Maine, the Key West Naval Station-​based battleship that sank in Havana harbor in 1898, the main precursor to the Spanish-​American war. History buffs will want to have a look here — it’s near the entrance, so it isn’t that bad a walk under the blistering tropical sun.

Accidentally discovered the Key West cemetery! I walked for over two hours discovering history, humor, and most of all — IGUANAS! The place was infested with 100’s (1000’s?) of the reptiles. I find them fascinating and I easily saw 400 of them sunning themselves on the gravestones.
This is probably a 3-​star cemetery, but since the island of Key West is so walkable, it should be seen. Get off Duval and into the back streets of the city.

I love touring old cemeteries when Im in strange towns and this was no exception.
Although in July it was blazing hot myself & PEM got to see lots of old graves, some unmarked and settling, some brand new, some that will break your heart with one day old babies.
Lots of iguana sightings! A nice jewish area as well that is to me, far more interesting, albeit it less historic but the sayings on the stones are much more personalized.
It’s a great way to spend a couple hours and take some nice photos!

Is it worth a stop? Sure! But it doesn’t rate very high on my list of must-​see cemeteries.
Sure it’s got some charm and history with some quirkiness mixed in. But it was so frustrating to navigate through a ton was lost on me. I opted for the self guided your using a map that I got from the main office drop box. I would’ve gone for the organized walking tour but I couldn’t locate a tour schedule online (I hope you’re reading this management).
I recommend riding through on a bike if you have one available.

You can easily spend a hour here.
Wish I could have done the guided tour, but it wasn’t being offered at the time I was there.
With the help of the online self guided tour, I was able to locate a few humorous epitaphs. I also saw many iguana’s basking in the sun on top of monuments.
I did notice a reoccurring theme (this includes those living) most of the people in key west were not born in key west.
Not a lot of tourist traffic at this attraction.

We always visit cemeteries while on vacation, this was a cool looking cemetery you can stroll or drive through! Lots of old plots, iguanas and roosters!!! Bigger than I expected it to be for an area the size of Key West! Be sure to check out the Battleship Maine monument!

I have a strange affinity towards cemeteries. I find them to be beautiful and of course peaceful. This one was no exception. The statues were beautiful as well as the coconut palms and frangipanis everywhere. I must have spent an hour wandering around. I especially enjoyed the Catholic section. Upon leaving I couldn’t help but feel that these dearly departed were truly loved. I also could see why people would live in Key West. As with most small towns, bonds are stronger and deeper.

The Key West Cemetery captures the essence of the city itself — humorous, irreverent and just a bit whimsical. I wanted to take a free guided tour, offered Tuesday and Thursday, but it was low season and I was told a tour guide wasn’t available. So, my guesthouse printed a self-​guided tour and cemetery map and I set out to explore the cemetery on my bike. It turned out to be fascinating, with interesting bits of history, unique tombstones of the common and famous, plus some eye-​catching epitaphs. Because it’s so close to sea level, much of it is above ground.
There is a monument to the U.S.S. Maine, blown up in Havana Harbor killing 260 American sailors, 20 of who are buried here. You’ll also find the grave of «General» Abe Sawyer, Key West’s famous 40 inch midget who requested burial in the grave of a full size man. And it’s the final resting place of Manuel Cabeza. He enraged the KKK by having a relationship with a mulatto woman, so they tarred and feathered him. In retaliation, he shot and killed one of his persecutors in the middle of Duval St. on Christmas Eve. The next day he was pulled from the jail and lynched. Many of Key West’s movers and shakers are laid to rest here, too.
My favorite epitaphs include, «I told you I was sick,» «I’m just resting my eyes,» and «Devoted Fan of Singer Julio Iglesias.»

Go, explore and have fun.

OK so if you have ever done a cemetery tour in NOLA, this is just as good. Definitely walkable and won’t take you more than an hour.
Get a map and enjoy yourself. Look for the two really famous grave marker names and don’t forget to notice that this cemetery actually has streets in it. Lastly, crossover «Passover Lane» and don’t forget to notice that some of the houses have addresses with ½’s in them.
;ProductCategoryID[]=22

An amazing chance to look back into the history of our country. Take a few minutes to think about life when these men and women walked the earth.

Fun to walk through during the day or walk around on a spooky night.

for a little bit of free history off the beaten path makes this for a nice excursion. many of the stones are beat up, and there’s a lot of overgrowth, many residents clearly don’t get a lot of love. The maps at the entrance will point you to some of the highlights of the cemetary (and there are many) but you’ll end up wandering aimlessly since many of the paths have their names rubbed off. Still, a nice way to spend a quiet hour away from Duval.

This is easily accessible by car, or by walking. The community here mirrors Key West’s history and its often sardonic, devil may care personality. Gravel paths make for easy walking, but it is a $ 500 fine to do any essentially irresponsible or disrespectful thing while visiting. You’ll find the famous epitaph, «I told you I was sick» at the entrance to the Jewish section on the east end. A very pastoral section dedicated to veterans and the Battle of the Maine is near the entrance. We didn’t locate the popular,. «At least I know where he’s sleeping tonight.» but we marvelled at the home made engineering just outside the front gates along a neighbor’s yard. A wall is built with wattle and mirrors to sheild the house from bad spirits coming from across the street.

People are dieing to get in. Good news is it is open from 7AM-​7PM (summer) 7AM-​6PM (winter) so death isn’t necessary for admission
Key Takeaways:
Layout: This is the place to be buried in Key West. You can wander through a plethora of resting places for people of different faith and historical significance, (Catholics, Jews, sailors killed on the USS Maine and Patriots of the Cuban revolution of 1868 etc.)
Tombs/​Sarcophagi: Smaller than, but reminiscent of, New Orleans cemeteries. No below ground burial so the selection is varied and unique; everything from angels to crypt doors bearing the inscription «I told you I was sick.»
Transportation: If you drive in through the southeast corner you can either leave your car on a paved road or drive around and stop to look at interesting graves. To say that street parking is near impossible is an understatement.