Village of Key Biscayne

Cover: Aerial of William J. Matheson’s Mashta House. Date unknown. Courtesy of Finlay Matheson via University of Miami.

This podcast episode features the story of the Village of Key Biscayne. What was once a strategic land mass for the Tequesta tribe more than 2000 years ago, Key Biscayne has become an important island in the Greater Miami area. It hosts Crandon Park, Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, as well as years of rich history. The village was once the home of South Florida’s Crandon Park Zoo.

Ownership of the island held various stakeholders beginning with the first land grants by the King of Spain in 1760, to the Davis family from 1821 – 1885, to Field and Osborne for a coconut plantation, then to James Deering and William Matheson, both of whom had great plans for the island during their stewardship. The village’s history is riddled with interesting stories, colorful characters, and disputes over land ownership.

Figure 1: Rickenbacker Causeway under construction in 1947. Courtesy of the Miami Herald.

Tune into this week’s podcast episode to hear more about the Village of Key Biscayne. You can download this episode on your favorite podcast platform (iTunes, Stitcher, Soundcloud, Spotify), or listen directly on the Miami-History website. Please remember to click on the subscribe button and to provide a rating and comment on any of the aforementioned platforms.