Oldest House Museum & Gardens Key West

I finally visited this museum after walking past many times and not realizing what it was. This is a beautifully preserved home and garden right on Duval Street. It is a non-profit organization that relies on funding from it's amazing gift shop, donations and admissions. Ann-Marie was working when I visited and we shared many conversations about her history in Key West as well as extensive knowledge of the home/museum. I was also lucky enough to meet Barbara, the curator and learn a bit more about the history of the house, which is fascinating. Please stop in and support this beautiful piece of Key West history. It's worth the low price of admission and the gift shop has many irresistible treasures from local artists you won't want to miss!

There Is no admission fee for this place you can leave a donation. There is a well-maintained garden with several benches to just sit. The historical information about the house was quite interesting. The items that were in the house were very interesting to see. The member was quite informative and polite. so sweet and knowledgeable. She really enjoyed what she did.

Worth visiting at least once. It’s a small house so it won’t take much time to go around it. $10 admission. Don’t forget to walk around the garden 😉

Small but worth the visit for the captain's office alone. A great cool quiet garden. Now features a piano which arrived during my visit.

Very interesting, we didn’t regret to pass it. The man their was telling a lot of stories, and the place itself is interesting to see. How people lived that times. You start to feel it

The views from the Lighthouse are spectacular. You must climb the 88 steps but it is definitely worth the effort. I must see if in Key West

Our first time here, and it exceeded expectations. The house and garden is amazing, packed with authentic period furnishings that really transport you back in time. Tom's introduction was informative and engaging, providing great context about the sea captain who owned the house and the era we were stepping into. Highly recommended!

This was a really neat experience, the tour guides are very knowledgeable and it was great looking away all of the vintage items. Very good experience

My husband is NOT a museum goer. We have visited Key West a dozen times and I always have passed by the Oldest House saying "next time". Do yourself a favor and just go. It is a pure gem of a museum amid the hustle and noise of Duval Street that has been lovingly preserved by the Old Island Restoration Foundation. The real gem here was our docent, Saud. What made the tour epic was Saud's passion and affection for the history of Key West. Not only was he knowledgeable and interesting to listen to, he was the nicest person ever! I had no idea that many of the buildings in Key West have been moved over the past 200 years - by mules - and this conch cottage is one of them. Even more fascinating is that it was home to a sea Captain, his wife, and their nine daughters!!! Eleven people in such small quarters with no air conditioning or modern conveniences - it really gives one pause and an appreciation for all we have now. The property has three buildings, the main house, the kitchen house, and the exhibit pavilion which face a garden with benches. Saud showed us around the gardens and shared great detail about the flora and fauna of Key West (turns out he is also a gardener - of course he is) and introduced us to Larry, the resident rooster and other birds who live in the gardens. Also fascinating to see are the works of art by Mario Sanchez, Key West's famous folk art wood carver. Did I mention my husband loved visiting the Oldest House? Thank you Saud for a wonderful tour and thank you John in the gift shop for being so accommodating and packaging our purchases with care.

If you enjoy historical homes, you should make the Oldest House a must-see while walking on Duval Street, as admission is free -- something hard enough to find anywhere, lest the heavily-touristed City of Key West. It won't take you too long to tour the home and its grounds (it is a self-guided walking tour, and you can stay as long as you like, while docents hang around the property ready to answer questions). Though the name sounds somewhat misleading, this is the oldest house in South Florida, having been built in 1829. It has seen a lot -- hurricanes, fire, hardship, prosperity, and of course, the drunken revelers during Fantasy Fest. If these walls could talk... The home was built by Richard W. Cussans, using pine and cedar, in the New England Bahama House architectural style, also known as Classic Revival. Although, as I mentioned, it is now on Duval Street, it wasn't always that way. It originally was located on Whitehead Street until 1834, when it was moved by mule and heavy rollers to this prime location, due to constant flooding in its original location. The back door lies directly in line with the front door, allowing ventilation, a must in the steamy tropics. The home also features colorful walls (a symbol of wealth, in comparison to stark white walls, which signified poverty), 19th century American furniture with more than half belonging to the Watlington family that owned the home, hanging portraits of the family members, a lovely organ, an ingenious hatch in the master bedroom used as a "natural" alternative to air conditioning, chamber pots, and even an outhouse in the gardens -- the wooden kind with the crescent opening on the door! There is even a rocking chair inside the home that is supposedly haunted and rocks on its own... Aside from the home and its tranquil gardens, which contain indigenous plants, is the cook house (kitchen), standing in the rear garden, apart from the house, to keep the cooking heat and threat of fire apart from the main dwelling. The wall oven is a "beehive oven" believed to be the only one intact in Florida outside of the Ximenez-Fatio house in St. Augustine which was built in the 1790s. As I mentioned, this is definitely worth seeing, especially if you live in Florida -- it is important to be aware of local history. Keep your eyes open or you may just assume it's just one more Classic Revival building used as a bed and breakfast these days.

Nicely restored house circa 1829, located right on Duval Street. Many items donated from the original family make it a treat. Our docent, Al, was excellent. Very informative with history and antidotes. Nice garden out back with mature Spanish Limes and other interesting specimens. We can see why they do weddings and events in the garden. Admission was inexpensive. It's nice to support this type of place in Key West. Highly recommended.

With as many times as I've been to Key West and walked by this house, I never realized that the tours were free! We finally decided to stop in and see what it was all about. The tour guides were very nice & knowledgeable. It's a fairly quick tour of the house but worth the time to walk around the beautiful gardens and such.

This is a free museum. The house is lovely inside but especially outside in the garden. There is a cookhouse, a latrine, and beautiful tropical garden that houses one or two iguanas. There is a friendly tour guide that talks about the history of the house which is quite interesting. Don't miss the captain's room that is full of interesting documents. There is also a funny photo spot where you can be the couple who were the old owners. There are modern public restrooms at the back of the garden.

Charming place to visit... in the midst of Duvall crazy you get this oasis with a ton of history. Plus it is FREE!! They do take donations and sell things to offset costs. I try to picture living in the house almost 200 years ago -- no indoor plumbing, electric, or even the kitchen (and don't even think about cable or wi-fi...lol). Great they have saved this house and allow the public to get a glimpse into the past.

This has been the worse experience I've had in key west a lady by the name of Val is very rude. No people skills or is she professional. Lovely place but bad customer service. I don't think I would visit this place again.

This is free tour and you get some history. If your visiting Key West and you want kill some time or save some money then this works. My only issue is that the tour guide did not give us any indication that the tour was over he just started all over as soon as the next set of people walked in...there were other parts of the house (outside) that we got no info on. Overall it's a free and quick way to past the time and get some cool pics

A nice place to visit for free. If you like history, this is the place for you. Also, it's nice place to go for a short reprieve from the heat. Clean bathrooms too.

We went to a garden wedding hosted here. It was tiny but didn't feel cramped. Perfect venue for a small gathering.

This is a beautiful house. Very tiny but hey what do you expect for Key West! The garden is extremely beautiful and a relaxing atmosphere! It is a must see, especially the kitchen in the backyard. An extremely interesting place!

Interested in taking a peek into the past? Come here. It's free.

Very nice and interesting. Since it is free it is definitely worth checking out. Be sure to speak to the docent, she had great stories for us.

If you're interested in Key Wests history this is a must see. The house is located right on Duval street and offers a nice place to get out of the sun and Duval street. The oldest house has free admission and is run by the donations of its visitors. While there a self-guided tour be sure to have one the volunteers working there for information or guided tour around the house they are very knowledgeable about the area and the history. While we were there we learned about a local artist named Mario Sanchez whose work is displayed in the house over the piano. Another nice thing is that one can get really close to the items, while in most historic houses one walks through hallways and the rooms are roped off here you can walk in the dining room and bedrooms, of course one cannot touch the items it is just very different. I don't understand why this is not more popular.However when in the area it is definitely worth a visit.