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Rich in history and culture, Key West gives tourists, Cuban-Americans a taste of Havana
Jump to full article: Ft. Myers (FL) News-Press, 2005-12-18
Author: Drew Sterwald
Intro: Cuba's first major revolt against Spanish rule sparked the Ten Years' War in 1868. Thousands of refugees fled across the Straits of Florida to Key West.
At the same time, tariffs and labor strife plagued Cuba's cigar industry, spurring manufacturers and workers to immigrate to the key as well.
By 1890, they were making 100 million cigars a year in Key West.
Many of their homes still stand, from the gingerbread-trimmed "Gato Jr. House" on Duval Street (now the Southernmost Point Guest House) to the cigar rollers' humble cottages still dotting many streets as private homes or small businesses.
The Gato name, given to homes and a neighborhood called Gatoville, came from Eduardo Hidalgo-Gato, the first Cuban-born cigar maker in Key West. He and other manufacturers built workers' quarters close to their factories.
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