Cedar Key, Florida: Tourism, History, Nature and Industry Come experience the unique island environment for yourself and find out what makes Cedar Key the state`s number one rural community. Located in the heart of Florida`s Nature Coast, Cedar Key believes in partnering to protect the community`s history, environment and working people. This foundation impressed the USDA to select the island as the 2009 Florida Rural Community of the Year.
To thank contributing partners and commemorate the prestigious recognition, townspeople are uniting to host an awards ceremony outside of City Hall at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday Feb. 3. Residents and visitors will join local, state, and federal officials at the event, and a homemade-desserts social will immediately follow. Although small in population and geographical size, Cedar Key is big on cultural history - an influence preserved in the architecture of the town and its people. "The diversity of our people is the key to our success," said Mayor Sue Colson. "We balance the protection of our abundant natural resources and our rich history. Tourists are attracted from all over the world who experience our unspoiled charm. This award is a great honor and a testament to the spirit of cooperation in our community." Permanent U.S. settlement in the Cedar Keys began in 1839 when a fort was established during the Second Seminole War. A railroad from Fernandina to Cedar Key was finished in 1861 and served as a shipment route for two separate mills that produced cedar slats for northern pencil factories including Faber Pencils. The Hurricane of 1896 brought an end to Cedar Key`s pencil and railroad industries. In the twentieth century, net fishing, sponge hooking and oystering became the major industries. Cedar Key`s economy was again devastated when a statewide ban on large scale net fishing went into effect in 1995. Cedar Key rose to the occasion and built a multi-million dollar clam-based aquaculture industry, making it one of the largest producer of farm-raised clams in the United States today. | 
