Monroe County Public Library Historian Tom Hambright will retire this month after 36 years of service to Monroe County and Monroe County residents. He was honored as “Historian Emeritus” for his knowledge and expertise of Florida Keys history at today’s Board of County Commissioner’s meeting.
Monroe County Historian Tom Hambright To Retire, Recognized by County Commissioners
KEY WEST, FL – Monroe County Public Library Historian Tom Hambright has served the entire Florida Keys community for the past 36 years and is set to retire this month. He is acclaimed for his extensive knowledge of the history of Key West and the Florida Keys, not just throughout Monroe County, but worldwide. In his 36 years of library service, Hambright has given presentations on Keys history to nearly every organization in the County and is known far beyond this community as the “Keys Historian.”
In this capacity, he has worked with authors, students, journalists, film producers, and scholars, sharing his wealth of knowledge, and is a frequent guest authority on The History Channel, Fox Nation, Food Network, HGTV, and other networks.
In 1999, Hambright was honored as Monroe County Employee of the Year. The City of Key West declared Jan. 5, 2016 as “Tom Hambright Day.” In 2017, the Key West Art & Historical Society honored him with the prestigious Scotti Merrill Preservation Award.
Under Hambright’s guidance, the Florida History archival collection has become an extensive collection of unique materials. But Hambright’s own knowledge is the real treasure of the collection.
“Tom Hambright has been an extraordinary ambassador for Monroe County, a valued colleague to his fellow employees, and a historic treasure to the community,” said Monroe County Director of Libraries Kimberly Matthews. “We are forever grateful for his 36 years of extraordinary service on behalf of Monroe County and are honored to name him our ‘Historian Emeritus’.”
A video of the G.O.A.T. (Greatest of All Time) Tom Hambright with local authors thanking him for his expertise and “vault” of archives can be found on the Monroe County BOCC (www.fb.com/monroecountybocc) and Key West Public Library (www.fb.com/keywestlibrary) Facebook pages.
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