 The butterfly had been thought to have become extinct as a result of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.Several rare plants, including yellow satinwood ("Zanthoxylum flavum"), Florida silver palm ("Coccothrinax argentata"), Coconut palm ("Cocos nucifera"), Key thatch palm ("Leucothrinax morrisii"), and the endangered small-flowered lily-thorn ("Catesbaea parviflora") are found in the park

Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway once ran through the present parkland to Key West.Built between 1905 and 1912, it was destroyed by the severe Labor Day Hurricane of 1935.