CFK Opens VIP Series with a historical look at the Florida Keys through early maps

CFK Opens VIP Series with a historical look at the Florida Keys through early maps

KEY WEST, FL, February 8, 2022— The College of the Florida Keys will open its 2022 VIP Series with “The Discovery, Early Mapping, and Charting of the Florida Keys and the Gulf Stream.” The presentation, led by local author and map researcher Brian Schmitt, is on Tuesday, February 22 at 7 p.m. in the Tennessee Williams Theatre on the Key West Campus. In its eighth season, the College’s VIP Series invites the community to learn from the Visions, Ideas, and Perspectives of speakers of local, regional, and national prominence. The 2022 season, sponsored by Centennial Bank, includes presentations that focus on timely and relevant topics.

In his presentation, Schmitt will lead the audience on a revelation of historical discoveries through maps of Florida and the Florida Keys dating back to the 16^th century. His analysis of early maps and charts of Florida, as well as of the immensely important seaway of the Gulf Stream, tells the story of how geography, exploration, politics, and industry converged to shape the future of the island chain. 

Schmitt is a co-author of “The Florida Keys: A History Through Maps.” He wrote the book in 2020 along with Todd Turrell and Robert Carr, a South Florida archaeologist. While Schmitt is better known throughout the Keys for his real estate business, Coldwell Banker Schmitt Real Estate Company, he has dedicated many years to researching Florida’s past through his large collection of historic maps.

Tickets for CFK’s VIP Series events are $5 at the door. Admission is free for students at CFK and Monroe County schools. For more information, call CFK at 305-296-9081 or visit the College’s website at CFK.edu/VIP.

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