July 2, 1961 – Author, journalist, and longtime Florida resident Ernest Hemingway died at his home in Idaho on this date. He is best known for his short stories and novels including, “A Farewell to Arms,” “The Old Man and the Sea,” and “To Have and Have Not,” as well as many others, some of which were written during his time in Florida.
Hemingway lived in Key West during the 1930s in an old home originally constructed in the mid-nineteenth century. He enjoyed the ample fishing opportunities around Key West and the Caribbean and frequently traveled to the Bahamas by boat. The Hemingway House in Key West, as it is now known, is open year round for tours and is home to a number of polydactyl cats, descendants of Hemingway’ s original six-toed white cat named “Snowball.”
~Florida Historical Society