Crane Point Museum and Nature Center is a nonprofit natural history museum and nature center located in the City of Marathon on Key Vaca, in the heart of the Florida Keys in Monroe County, Florida, United States.

Crane Point Museum and Nature Center
Crane Point Hammock
Crane Point Hammock entrance, photographed by Sharon Hahn Darlin
Former name
Tropical Crane Point Hammock[1]
Established1976
Location5550 Overseas Highway, Marathon, Florida
Typenatural history, children's museum
CEOCharlotte Quinn[2]
Nearest parkingpaid self-parking or valet parking
Websitecranepoint.net
2021

The museum sits on a 63-acre parcel of woodland, known as the Tropical Crane Point Hammock. The stand of hardwoods is a hammock which forms an ecological island.

The facility was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2021.[3]

The organization's CEO is Charlotte Quinn.[2]

Features

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Old Vaca train station at the Crane Point Museum

Crane Point features several facilities:

 
George Adderly House, built in 1903
  • George Adderley House, a historic house museum that was built by George Adderley, a Bahamian pioneer, in 1903 that still stands on Crane Point's property. The exterior of the house was constructed with Tabby, a concrete-like material made of burned conch and other shells and sand.
  • Marathon Wild Bird Center, a rehabilitation center for injured and orphaned wild birds. Opened in 1998, the center also offers education programs and research projects. Some recovering birds can be viewed in the outdoor flight cage.
  • Nature trails

History

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Crane House

Francis and Mary Crane purchased the land in 1949 and built Crane House in 1954.[2]

In 1976, local citizens formed the Florida Keys Land Trust to preserve the hardwood hammock. The trust incorporated as a nonprofit in 1978,[4] purchased the land, and saved the area from being developed into private homes and shopping malls. The trust changed its name to Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust.[4]

Crane Point was formerly known as Tropical Crane Point Hammock.[1]

The Crane Point Museum and Nature Center and Adderley House are both part of the National Register of Historic Places.[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Marathon". Sherpa Guides. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Rickert (4 April 2022). "Crane Point Joins National Registry of Historic Places". Keys Weekly. Retrieved 17 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Weekly listing". National Park Service.
  4. ^ a b "Florida Keys Land and Sea Trust". CauseIQ. Retrieved 17 December 2023.

References

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