Key West History - Jan 17, 1928 - Calvin Coolidge and His Wife Arrived in Key West Today in Key West History

When President Donald Trump visited Key West late last year, it was the first time in nearly 55 years for a sitting US president to visit Key West. Prior to that, the last time was when John F. Kennedy stopped by to inspect the defenses of Key West and provide some positive publicity for South Florida. And that was in November of 1962, following the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Key West's location and climate has a long history of drawing in the top executives, not just from companies but also from the most powerful nation in the world. US presidents have loved Key West for years. One of the most famous visitors was Harry Truman. Harry Truman came to Key West 11 times during his presidency. He always ended up staying at the Navy's officer residence. And that house is now called Truman's Little White House.
Ulysses S. Grant was the first US president to visit Key West. He came in 1880, it was 11 years after leaving office, while traveling with Civil War General, Phil Sheridan. They were on a steamship from New Orleans bound for Havana, but had to stop in Key West for the day. That was during the period when Key West was one of the largest cities in Florida and also one of the wealthiest.
Another Civil War leader, Jefferson Davis had also visited Key West. He stopped by in 1867, the day after he was released from prison on bail. Key West is a good place to go when you just get out of jail!
In his first term as President, Grover Cleveland also stopped by Key West in 1889. He spent a few hours in the city and he was shown around the island in carriages, and there was a public reception held at the Russell House.
William Howard Taft came to Key West on Henry Flagler's Overseas Railway. The year was 1912. That was just 11 months after the railway opened and President Taft was on his way to inspect the Panama Canal. But of course he had to come to Key West first and then get on a ship.
And Calvin Coolidge also stopped by Key West on his way back from a meeting in Cuba. That year was 1928 and he had just finished speaking at a big conference in Cuba.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited Key West six times between 1917 and 1939, he was practically a snowbird. His first stop was when he was young Assistant Secretary of the Navy and he was en route to Cuba as well. After Roosevelt was stricken with polio, he spent several winters in the Keys on a houseboat. And then he also came back to Key West as president in 1939. It was a very different ride then as he was coming down the overseas highway, in an open air convertible.
And you can be sure that Key West always appreciated this type of attention from the chief executive, as many of our streets in Key West our name for Presidents - there's Truman Avenue, there's Einsenhower and Kennedy Dr.
Dwight Eisenhower first came to Key West before he became president. He was the Presiding Officer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when he came and he spent 21 days at the Little White House, trying to recover from an illness. Guess who recommended that he do that? You got it - Harry Truman. Eisenhower also returned in 1955 when he was recovering from a heart attack. You're seeing the theme here. People love to come to Key West to recuperate from all the ills of the rest of the world.
President Kennedy came through a trip on Key West back in March of 1961. And he met the British Prime Minister here in Key West for a summit. So prior to Donald Trump visiting at the end of last year, John F. Kennedy's visit to Key West in 1962 was the last time a sitting president came to Key West.
A couple other presidents visited us, but it was after they had left the office. Jimmy Carter came down. Bill Clinton has been here. gGeorge HW Bush had a lovely little fishing hidey hole that he liked to come and do some fishing in Islamorada. We heard a lot about that after he passed away last year many many stories were told about the wonderful interactions