The Key West Shipwreck Historeum Museum was formerly known as Shipwreck Historeum and it is situated at 1 Whitehead Street in Key West, Florida. The museum is a terrific combination of films, actual artifacts, and actors to narrate the various stories of shipwreck salvage in the past 400 years in the Florida Keys. The building was originally a warehouse that Asa Tift, a famous ship wrecker tycoon of Key West, built in the nineteenth century. The warehouse has been recreated as the present Key West Shipwreck Historeum Museum.

The major artifacts that the museum displays are from Isaac Allerton, which got wrecked on the reefs of the Florida Keys in 1856. The wrecked vessel was rediscovered in 1985 and it became the richest shipwreck in the history of Key West. The Federal Wrecking Court announced the largest monetary award in the history of Key West wreck salvaging for a single vessel. The other main historical attraction in the museum is a silver bar belonging to the Nuestra Senora de las Maravillas. The visitors could lift this silver bar salvaged from that ship and placed in a box to feel its weight. The museum also has several relics from various Spanish galleons on display. Visitors are allowed to climb the lookout tower of 65’ height and watch the entire island from such a vantage point.

The mid 1850s of Key West was known as the era of ship wrecks and wreckers. This unique Key West Shipwreck Historeum Museum is a maritime heritage that informs the visitors how this enchanting island of Key West became the richest city of the United States in that period by salvaging the many shipwrecks in that period. According to the records available at the museum, more than 100 ships passed the island every day during that period and at least one ship used to get wrecked every week somewhere along the reefs of the Florida Keys. The wreckers sold the salvaged goods from the wrecks at an auction. The wrecking courts would award between 25% and 50% of the profit to the wreckers. You could find out about all this and more interesting shipwreck, salvage, and maritime stories by visiting this museum.