Oldest House & Garden Museum

This has been the worse experience I’ve had in key west a lady by the name of Val is very rude. No people skills or is she professional. Lovely place but bad customer service. I don’t think I would visit this place again.

If you enjoy historical homes, you should make the Oldest House a must-​see while walking on Duval Street, as admission is free — something hard enough to find anywhere, lest the heavily-​touristed City of Key West. It won’t take you too long to tour the home and its grounds (it is a self-​guided walking tour, and you can stay as long as you like, while docents hang around the property ready to answer questions).
Though the name sounds somewhat misleading, this is the oldest house in South Florida, having been built in 1829. It has seen a lot — hurricanes, fire, hardship, prosperity, and of course, the drunken revelers during Fantasy Fest. If these walls could talk…
The home was built by Richard W. Cussans, using pine and cedar, in the New England Bahama House architectural style, also known as Classic Revival. Although, as I mentioned, it is now on Duval Street, it wasn’t always that way. It originally was located on Whitehead Street until 1834, when it was moved by mule and heavy rollers to this prime location, due to constant flooding in its original location.
The back door lies directly in line with the front door, allowing ventilation, a must in the steamy tropics. The home also features colorful walls (a symbol of wealth, in comparison to stark white walls, which signified poverty), 19^th century American furniture with more than half belonging to the Watlington family that owned the home, hanging portraits of the family members, a lovely organ, an ingenious hatch in the master bedroom used as a «natural» alternative to air conditioning, chamber pots, and even an outhouse in the gardens — the wooden kind with the crescent opening on the door! There is even a rocking chair inside the home that is supposedly haunted and rocks on its own…
Aside from the home and its tranquil gardens, which contain indigenous plants, is the cook house (kitchen), standing in the rear garden, apart from the house, to keep the cooking heat and threat of fire apart from the main dwelling. The wall oven is a «beehive oven» believed to be the only one intact in Florida outside of the Ximenez-​Fatio house in St. Augustine which was built in the 1790s. As I mentioned, this is definitely worth seeing, especially if you live in Florida — it is important to be aware of local history. Keep your eyes open or you may just assume it’s just one more Classic Revival building used as a bed and breakfast these days.

A nice place to visit for free. If you like history, this is the place for you. Also, it’s nice place to go for a short reprieve from the heat. Clean bathrooms too.

Very nice and interesting. Since it is free it is definitely worth checking out. Be sure to speak to the docent, she had great stories for us.

We went to a garden wedding hosted here. It was tiny but didn’t feel cramped. Perfect venue for a small gathering.

Interested in taking a peek into the past? Come here. It’s free.

This special spot ended up being one of our favorite unintended stops on our stroll in Key West. I was standing on the outside of the building admiring its architecture through my view finder when a lady pulled up on a bike and said «you guys should check it out its free and its gorgeous.» My response was «you had me at free». My sister is disabled so some spots in Key West are rather difficult to maneuver through, but this particular alley wasnt too bad. The garden is gorgeous, with adult vegetation and friendly chickens. But the real gem was the tour. I believe it started at 3, and we had the whole place to ourselves. The guide opened up the door for us and lead us in to a gorgeous home. He went through every little detail about the house, including the fact that the house was actually moved to its current location via mule from another area in the Keys. It was like we got our own little private tour. Donations are accepted in a little box outside the door.
I would recommend this calm patch of Key West for anyone looking to get away, and to appreciate how far the island has actually come. Makes you feel less like a tourist and more of an admirer.
PS: Beware of the rocking chair in the living room, apparently its known by the ghost tour guides to rock by itself.

This is a beautiful house. Very tiny but hey what do you expect for Key West! The garden is extremely beautiful and a relaxing atmosphere! It is a must see, especially the kitchen in the backyard. An extremely interesting place!