On Friday, March 25, Key West will celebrate its 200th anniversary. Technically, it’s celebrating the anniversary of Lt. Matthew Perry sailing to the island and planting the American flag in it in 1822, claiming the previously disputed island chain now known as the Florida Keys as a part of the U.S. and Florida.

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The original Matthew Perry was a naval officer who first claimed Key West for the United States. Born in Newport, Rhode Island, he is pictured here sometime between 1856 and 1858. He died in 1858. 

Prior to that, Key West had been considered by some to be part of Cuba, a territory of Spain at the time. But no one contested Perry’s claim, and the island evolved into a crucial strategic and economic city for Florida throughout the coming decades. Key West was one of the richest, largest and most metropolitan cities in Florida at one point, and the names of those who first claimed and developed it still dot the town in the names of streets and buildings.

eweld@keysnews.com