History abounds at Robbie’s Marina

Indians were living on the Florida Keys more than 1,000 years before the first Europeans spied the archipelago. As a matter of fact, over 150 prehistoric sites have been identified on the island chain. One of the largest, a prehistoric Indian mound the size of a football field, was discovered on Upper Matecumbe Key. The massive mound is not an isolated site around the Matecumbe area. An Indian burial mound was identified on Lignumvitae Key and a less significant mound discovered on Indian Key.

Additionally, there was once a prehistoric mound located in what is today the parking lot of Lower Matecumbe’s Robbie’s Marina where, when work is being done on the grounds, Indian artifacts are still occasionally uncovered.

Robbie’s is one of a handful of bona-fide roadside attractions found along the 108-mile Overseas Highway and a must-see for those looking to feed the world famous tarpon or sip one of the Hungry Tarpon’s elaborately garnished bloody marys. What might not immediately spring to mind, however, is that in addition to the Indian mound and the story of Scarface, the broken-jawed tarpon that began the tarpon craze at the marina, a significant amount of Keys’ history is associated with the property.

The property’s historical context begins after exiting the modern Overseas Highway and turning on to the narrow strip of asphalt that leads to the marina. The approach follows the original path of the Overseas Highway that opened to traffic in 1928. In those days, in order to make the entire trip from the mainland to Key West, a 40-mile trip aboard an automobile ferry between Lower Matecumbe and No Name keys was required.

It was this gap in the highway that brought hundreds of WWI veterans to the area circa 1934. The veterans were sent to the Keys to build a series of solid automobile bridges that would eliminate the need for the ferry system. Three work camps were constructed to house the men. Camp 1, found on Windley Key, would have been located in the general area of what is today the Island Grill Restaurant. Camp 3 would have been found at the southern end of Lower Matecumbe, near what was then the automobile ferry landing site and what is today the Florida National High Adventure Sea Base, also known as the Boy Scout Camp.

Camp 5 was located approximately five miles south of the Federal Emergency Relief Administration’s headquarters. FERA was the governmental agency in charge of the automobile bridge construction project. Headquarters operated out of Upper Matecumbe’s Hotel Matecumbe, a location recognized today as MA’s Fish Camp. Camp 5’s location would have been in the area of Robbie’s Marina. Housed in wooden shacks and tents, no one living in the camps stood a chance when the Category 5 Labor Day Hurricane struck in 1935.

The killer hurricane accounted for nearly 500 deaths and included more than 200 veterans killed by the extreme wind and storm surge. In the days that followed the storm, hundreds of bodies were recovered. Four days after the storm, on September 6, Florida Gov. David Scholtz ordered that cremation of the bodies begin in an effort to help prevent the spread of disease. The dead were placed in pine caskets, stacked, and burned at 24 sites between Plantation Key and Lower Matecumbe. Three of those cremation sites were located at the northern tip of Lower Matecumbe. One cremation site was on the Robbie’s property. Two other sites were located on the other side of the highway.

Walter A. Starck and his son, Walter E. “Buck” Starck, were living in Miami when the eye of the 1935 hurricane passed over Lower Matecumbe. Buck Stark was born May 18, 1917 and grew up navigating the Atlantic shallows and traveling with his father between the mainland and the Florida Keys on fishing adventures. After the 1935 hurricane, Buck and his father ventured south to the Matecumbe keys where they undoubtedly witnessed untold horrors.

By the late 1930s, the Starcks had moved to the Keys and purchased the Whale Harbor Fishing Camp which consisted of several rental cottages, a bar, restaurant, service station, dock, and a handful of charter boats. Because of his love of the ocean and his aptitude for math, Buck was tutored by a retired master of celestial navigation in Miami at an early age and, in 1938, passed the requisite tests required to be certified a Master Mariner. At 21 year of age, Buck became the youngest Master Mariner in the country.

In the post WWII years, the Stacks would sell the Whale Harbor property and buy land on Lower Matecumbe. In the summer of 1946, they began building a house that would become the island’s first permanent residence (the family home can still be found on the Robbie’s property). After the home was finished, Buck and his wife’s brother, Ellis Shires, built a bait and tackle store. Ruth Starck, Buck’s wife, ran the bait shop out of the building that is today recognized as the Hungry Tarpon Restaurant.

After learning about all the history associated with the Robbie’s property, Key West ghost hunter David Sloan brought a clairvoyant to the property to see if there were any spirits haunting the property. On the tour, the first spirit to make its presence known was a baseball player named Ted. With all the events that have occurred on the property, it is safe to say there were other spirits who made their presence known, many others.

Brad Bertelli is an Upper Keys historian and author of five books on Florida and Florida Keys history. His column will appear every other week in The Reporter. Reach Brad with comments and questions at WhyPanic@aol.com.

This story was originally published March 31, 2017 at 10:41 AM with the headline "History abounds at Robbie’s Marina."