Eccentric Key West: The 1847 Key West Cemetery & Robert the Doll

Nobody does eccentric island history quite like Key West. Beyond the beaches and Duval Street saloons, two sites reveal the island's playful sense of humour about life, death and folklore: the sun-drenched 1847 Key West Cemetery in the centre of Old Town, and the Civil War brick casemates of Fort East Martello.

1. Walking the 1847 Key West Cemetery (Margaret & Angela Streets, Free Entry)

After the October 1846 hurricane washed away the island's original coastal graveyard, the city established this 19-acre cemetery in 1847 at the highest point of Old Town. Because solid coral bedrock sits inches beneath the surface, burials are placed inside stacked, whitewashed above-ground stone vaults (nichos) like those in New Orleans and Havana. Pick up a free self-guided map at the main gate at 701 Passover Lane (open from early morning until sunset) and walk to these four stops:

1. B.P. 'Pearl' Roberts's Tombstone (1929 to 1979): Key West's famous local hypochondriac had the last laugh on everyone who doubted her health, with an epitaph reminding visitors she had warned them she was ill.
2. Gloria M. Russell's Stone & Neighbouring Epitaphs: one headstone dryly notes that its occupant is resting her eyes, while a nearby widow's stone jokes that she finally knows where her husband is sleeping at night.
3. The 1898 USS Maine Memorial: a bronze statue of a U.S. Navy sailor guarding the graves of 260 sailors killed when the battleship USS Maine exploded in Havana Harbor on 15 February 1898.
4. 'Sloppy Joe' Russell, General Abraham Sawyer & Pet Graves for beloved Key West dogs and a terrier named Dynamic.

2. Fort East Martello Museum & Robert the Doll (3501 South Roosevelt Boulevard)

At the eastern end of South Roosevelt Boulevard beside the airport, the 1862 Civil War brick fortress of Fort East Martello houses the Key West Art & Historical Society Museum. Inside you will find welded folk-art sculptures by Stanley Papio, cigar-making exhibits, and in a glass case surrounded by apology letters from visitors who photographed him without asking politely: Robert the Doll. Made in 1904 by Steiff and dressed in the childhood sailor suit of painter Gene Otto, the straw doll has inspired local legends for over a century.