Key West
2 of the 7 encyclopedias on this shelf carry an entry for Key West. Both are reproduced below, so you can see where they agree and where they differ.
Aiton's Encyclopedia (1910)
an island and city of southern Florida. The word "key," spelled also "cay" and "kay," is Spanish for "low island" or sandbank. It is related possibly to the English word, quay, meaning a wharf. Like the other Florida keys, Key West consists of a scanty layer of soil resting on a foundation of coral. The island lies nowhere to exceed twelve feet above the sea. The soil is fertile and the vegetation is luxuriant. Key West is the outermost of a long curve of islands that has been described aptly as a finger pointing toward Cuba. The city of Key West is about 100 miles distant from Havana. It possesses a fine harbor. It is a United States naval station , and possesses a number of government buildings. It has regular communication by steamer with Cuba and the cities of the United States, both on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. The industries of the city are characteristic. It is a center of the sponge fishery. It is noted for the manufacture of cigars and ornaments made from turtle shells. Fishermen bring ashore enormous green turtles. A railway to Key West is under construction. It is making its way from the mainland from key to key by means of piling and bridges. In 1909 a statement was given out to the effect that the sea-going railroad across the Florida keys must be abandoned at least temporarily. Henry M. Flagler, who is at the head of the enterprise must stop with the Key West terminal still forty miles away and the problem of crossing the Bahia Honda channel still unsolved. Already Mr. Flagler has spent more than $15,000,000 and much of that has been wasted, because of storms that swept away the low lying railroad on the keys of the ocean. The completion of the work demands many millions more. Flagler has not got the money and does not know where to find it at present. Financial worry has caused a serious breakdown. See Cuba ; Sponge ; Florida ; Pineapple
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
a city and county-seat of Monroe co., Fla.; on the Gulf of Mexico, and on the Florida East Coast railroad. It is also a port of entry and a noteworthy United States naval station. The city is built on an island of the same name, about 50 miles off the coast, 7 miles long by 1 to 2 wide, of coral formation, elevated only 11 feet above the sea, and covered with a thin layer of soil on which tropical fruits are successfully cultivated. Key West has an excellent harbor and regular steamer communication with the principal Atlantic and Gulf ports of the United States, and with Cuba. During the American- Spanish War the city was the rendezvous of the United States navy. The principal industries are the manufacture of cigars, sponge fishing, green turtle catching, and deep-sea fishing. Key West has United States Marine Hospital, a a shipyard with marine railway, a United States dock, custom house, and the United States courts for the Southern District of Florida. Key West, the terminal of a chain of islands, is connected with the main land by a railway running through these islands and over a stone and concrete roadway connecting them with each other. This enterprise, financed and accomplished by Henry Flagler at a cost of some $15,000,000, makes it possible to carry through-cars, both with freight and passengers, between the United States and Cuba by means of an ocean ferry, capable of carrying 30 cars at a time. It was completed in 1915. Pop. (1910) 19,945; (1920) 18,749.