Pat’s Wildways: Cedar Key Post-Hurricanes
A few times a year, Bucko and I have been in the habit of driving across the state to Cedar Key, the old terminus of the railroad track from Fernandina back in the day. It’s about a three-hour car drive from here and has been our refuge from the hustle and bustle that downtown Fernandina has become.
But Cedar Key is a different place now since it was ravaged by Hurricane Helene this past September. We stayed in Gainesville a couple of weeks ago and decided to drive the hour or so from there to Cedar Key to check it out. It was worse than we expected.
Dock Street, the main thoroughfare along the waterfront that is lined by fun restaurants, bars and shops, is basically gone. The hurricane destroyed all the buildings along the shoreline at Dock Street and most of the homes and lodgings along First Street as well. Now, two months after Hurricane Helene, the debris has been cleared, some rebuilding is going on, but mostly, well, it will never be the same again.
Cedar Key has come back from hurricanes before, and the people who live there are a resilient bunch. Still, the town was just about recovered from devastating Hurricane Idalia in August 2023 when double tragedies hit again. In mid-September 2024, a fire destroyed part of Dock Street, and then a couple of weeks later, Hurricane Helene slammed into the area, destroying the rest of it. Further inland, the damage is evident, too. The single grocery store in town is gone, many houses are missing roofs, sidings, etc., and vacant lots are scattered around where homes used to be. The aftermath is depressing to behold.
Bucko and I had some hope when we drove into town that things were not as bad as the reports. After all there was a large new sign advertising Steamers, our favorite dockside water hole in Cedar Key. It’s open! Great! But sadly, that was not the case. We parked our car and walked over to Dock Street, all set for a big bucket of steamed clams and a couple of beers there like we had enjoyed many times over many years before. But the building was destroyed. All the buildings along the water’s edge were destroyed and even the little Clam Bar on the lagoon side of the public pier was gone too. All that remained of this once-lively place was a small concrete, outhouse-sized building – the rest of the building and the deck around it is now part of history.
Steamers itself still lives on, but it is now in name only, sharing a restaurant location a couple of blocks inland with the 2nd Street Cafe. Bucko and I had our obligatory clams and beer here, and it was as good as or even better than before. A hundred steamed clams were served in a giant pot, with sides of cheese and broccoli tidbits and garlic bread. It was wonderful, and the people, some of the same ones from the old Steamers, were happy to have jobs again. But the only water view was a painting of the old Steamers proudly hung on a central wall. If I had to guess, I would say this is the “new normal,” and any rebuilding this time will be two blocks inland from the old Dock Street. Resilience is one thing, but common sense is another. This is no longer the time to build new docks and decks over the sea. With climate change and increasing storms, those days, sadly, are over.
Despite all this devastation, Cedar Key's spirit is still alive and well. Here and there were hand-painted signs, “I love Cedar Key.” A large, well-decorated Christmas tree formed a centerpiece for their city park, the gazebo has been rebuilt, and the park cleared and operational. Construction workers are everywhere replacing torn-off decks and repainting new walls for the remaining buildings that still have some structure left.
I have no doubt that Cedar Key will be restored again, but differently than before. It still makes for an interesting visit. The historic Island Hotel on Second Street is still open and other lodging is available too. Restaurants a bit further from Dock Street are open too. Cedar Key deserves a visit, if only to support the community in their efforts to restore normalcy. And, be sure to eat the clams at the new Steamers. It’s almost worth the drive!
Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com
