Mallory Steamship Line - Key West, FL - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The marker # 37 reads: "Mallory Steamship Line / Charles Henry Mallory formed the Mallory Ship Line in the 1860s. The Mallory Line operated passenger and freight shipping from New York City, through Key West, to Galveston, Texas. The shipping line operated seventy ships for their numerous coastal routes. The expansion of the railroad signaled the demise of steamship travel to Key West. That, coupled with the advent of automotive travel in the 1920-30s, sealed the fate of the Mallory Line. Coastal water shipping declined and Mallory closed in 1941. - Circa 1860 -"

From keywesthistoricmarkertour.org: "Charles Henry Mallory of Mystic Connecticut formed the Mallory Ship Line in the 1860s. By 1873 the Mallory Line offered passenger and freight service from New York, Key West, and Galveston. Starting in 1876, the ships also started delivering mail to ports along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast. Mallory started with sailing ships with average travel time taking nine days each way from New York to Key West. Steam powered ships reduced traveling time to four days. When a Mallory Line ship left New York City for Key West, a tandem ship would leave Key West for New York. That meant that six steamers were necessary to maintain the weekly service schedule desired. At their zenith the Mallory steamship line operated as many as seventy ships for their many routes. Their routes were known as the Clyde Line, Porto Rico Line and the Ward Line. All disembarked from New York and stopped at various ports along the East Coast, Gulf Coast, and numerous Caribbean ports. The cost of passage was not necessarily cheap. In 1898 a first class, one-way ticket could range from $20.00 to $60.00 or more depending on the destination. Today the only remains of the Mallory Steamship Line are the ticket office built after the Great Key West Fire of 1886. The ticket office was built on the site of the former office and observation tower of Asa Tift's Company in Mallory Square (visit Historic Marker # 13). The building was moved to its present day location in Mallory Square in 1962. "http://www.keywesthistoricmarkertour.org/marker/454

Marker Number: 37 Date: Circa 1860 County: Monroe Marker Type: Plaque Sponsored or placed by: Key West Art & Historical Society Website: [Web Link]

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