Seminole Key, Florida

Seminole Key, Florida is an island city located off the coast of mainland Florida in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of Brown County, Florida. As of the 2010 cencus, Seminole Key has a population of 975,876 people, making it one of the biggest cities in Florida. About 93% of Brown County's population live in Seminole Key proper.

Seminole Key is a diverse city with a large Cuban, Puerto Rican and Haitian population. It is known as the "Melting Pot of Florida" due to all of the cultures in Seminole Key from many different types of people.

History
Like all of Florida, Seminole Key was inhabited by different Native American tribes before the Spanish landed in North America. The Tequestas, and Seminoles occupied the land now known as Semninole Key. The land was first settled by Philadelphia native Rudolph Hatchett in 1846 as Hatchettsville as a small fishing town with a population of only 14 people. The area was later abandoned during the course of the American Civil War. The island was once again settled in 1873, this time permanently as Seminole Key with a starting population of only 43 people. Most of them Native Americans looking to start over after the American Indian Wars.

During the late 19th century and early 20th century, Northerners were attracted to Seminole Key due to its warm year-round climate and by the 1920s, Seminole Key became a prosperous Southern city. With the ending of Florida's 1920s land boom, a 1926 hurricane and the Great Depression, Seminole Key's growth soon went to a standstill. During World War II, The US knew that Seminole Key could be a major target from the Axis powers so all beaches were closed surrounding Seminole Key and Brown County and a temporary military base was estableished in the Northern fringe of Seminole Key into unincorporated Brown County, Florida.