<P> Mayors of Key West have reflected the city's cultural and ethnic heritage . Among its mayors are the first Cuban mayor and one of the first openly gay mayors . One mayor is also famous for having water - skied to Cuba . </P> <P> NAS Key West, Boca Chica and the Truman Annex have been the home of US ships, submarines, Pegasus - class hydrofoils and Fighter Training Squadrons like the VF101 detachment . NAS Key West is still a training facility for top gun pilots . </P> <P> Key West has had a military presence since 1823, shortly after its purchase by Simonton in 1822 . John W. Simonton lobbied the U.S. government to establish a naval base on Key West, both to take advantage of its strategic location and to bring law and order to the Key West town . On March 25, 1822, naval officer Matthew C. Perry sailed the schooner Shark to Key West and planted the U.S. flag claiming the Keys as United States property . In 1823 A naval base was established to protect shipping merchants in the lower keys from pirates . The original base is now known as Mallory Square . </P> <P> Key West was always an important military post, since it sits at the northern edge of the deepwater channel connecting the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico (the southern edge 90 miles (140 km) away is Cuba) via the Florida Straits . Because of this, Key West since the 1820s had been dubbed the "Gibraltar of the West ." Fort Taylor was initially built on the island . The Navy added a small base from which the USS Maine sailed to its demise in Havana at the beginning of the Spanish--American War . </P>

In 1800 the united states was not the only nation to claim the west