Cedar Key, Florida | city

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Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 790 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 958.

Founded in 1842 as a resort for wealthy planters, Cedar Key became a center for pencil manufacturing when the Eberhard Faber Pencil Company bought huge tracts of land, for 50 cents per acre, in 1855. The town was originally located on an outer island locally known as Atsena Otie Key, but was rebuilt on a more protected island after a terrible hurricane struck on September 29, 1896. Today there are a few remnants of the original town on Atsena Otie Key, but there are also many of the juniper trees that originally drew the pencil company. These were misidentified as cedars by early settlers, hence the name 'Cedar Key'.

Cedar Key's importance in Florida's history, which began as far back as 1000 BC with pre-Columbian habitation of the region, was recognized on October 3, 1989 by the federal government. At that time, 80,000 acres (320 km²) in and around the town were added to the National Register of Historic Places under the title of the Cedar Keys Historic and Archaeological District.

» www.cedarkey.org