No Name Key
No Name Key is an island in the lower Florida Keys in the United States.[1] It is 3 miles (4.8 km) from US 1 and sparsely populated, with only 43 homes. It is only about 1,140 acres (460 hectares) [2] in comparison to its larger neighbor, Big Pine Key, which lies about half a mile (800 m) to its west. It is accessible by a concrete bridge from Big Pine Key and was the terminus of a car ferry that existed before the present Overseas Highway was built on the remains of Flagler's Overseas Railroad.[3]
 Key deer walking on No Name Key. | |
  No Name Key No Name Key  No Name Key No Name Key (Caribbean) | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Location | Gulf of Mexico |
| Coordinates | 24.6926°N 81.3260°W |
| Archipelago | Florida Keys |
| Adjacent bodies of water | Florida Straits |
| Administration | |
| State | Florida |
| County | Monroe |
Electricity
No Name Key was known for not being connected to the commercial power grid as a local county ordinance prohibited it. Residents mostly used a combination of solar energy and diesel or gas generators.[4]
This prohibition of commercial electricity sparked a lawsuit between the No Name Key Property Owners and the Monroe County. In May 2013 the Florida Public Service Commission exercised their jurisdiction over public utilities and issued Order PSC-13-0207-PAA-EM declaring the residents had a right to commercial electrical power. A week later the circuit court issued a Writ of Mandamus ordering the county to issue the permits necessary to connect the residential homes to the commercial electric grid.
On May 29, 2013 the decades-long battle over electricity ended as the residents began connecting to the commercial electric grid.[4]
In popular culture
- No Name Key is featured in the 1966 spy novel Danger Key.
- No Name Key is featured in the military SF novel Gust Front by John Ringo
- No Name Key is featured in the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony .
- No Name Key is featured in the novel Torpedo Juice by Tim Dorsey.
- No Name Key was mentioned in Bones Season 3 Episode 5, "Mummy in the Maze".
- No Name Key is referenced in the 2008 Michael Crichton novel Pirate Latitudes.
- No Name Key is the setting for the 2014 novel No Name Key by Jessica Argyle.
References
- Viele, J. (1996). The Florida Keys: A History of the Pioneers. Florida's history through its places. Pineapple Press. p. 122. ISBN 978-1-56164-101-7. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- Wilkinson, Jerry (2013). "History of no Name Key". Keys Historeum. Historical Preservation Society of the Upper Keys. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
- "Tiny Fla. Island Debates Joining Electric Grid". NPR. 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- Keith, J. (2014). June Keith's Key West & The Florida Keys: A Guide to the Coral Islands. None. Palm Island Press. p. 308. ISBN 978-0-9743524-9-7. Retrieved September 7, 2017.
- Hunt, B. (2011). Visiting Small-Town Florida. Pineapple Press, Incorporated. p. 21. ISBN 978-1-56164-488-9. Retrieved September 7, 2017.