Pigeon Key: The Tiny Island Beneath the Old Seven Mile Bridge

Tucked beneath the historic Seven Mile Bridge in the Florida Keys lies Pigeon Key, a five-acre island with an outsized story. In the early 1900s it housed the workers who built Henry Flagler’s astonishing Overseas Railroad.

Their wood-frame cottages still stand, now a National Register historic district and a marine science and education center. Schoolchildren and visitors come to learn about the railroad that once connected Key West to the mainland.

Reached by ferry or by walking a stretch of the old bridge, the island offers swimming, snorkeling, and sweeping views of turquoise water.

Small as it is, Pigeon Key holds a big chapter of Florida history, a place where the ambition of the railroad age still lingers in the salt air.