photo #6062646

In the 1920s, Perky purchased land on Sugarloaf Key with the hopes of commercial development. One of his projects was creating a fishing camp. The monkey wrench in the idea was the same one that made life difficult up and down the Florida Keys—mosquitoes.Fortunately, Perky read about Dr. Charles Campbell of San Antonio, Texas. The doctor had published a book called Bats, Mosquitoes, and Dollars that detailed the vital role bats play in controlling mosquito populations.To combat the blood-thirsty hordes, Campbell promoted a bat tower of his own design because some bats dine extensively on small flying insects like mosquitoes. Perky took the advice and sent away for the doctor’s set of bat tower instructions. When the manual arrived, and the timbers were hammered and bolted into place, the tower was fitted with a plaque that read, “Dedicated to good health at Perky, Fla., by Mr. and Mrs. R.C. Perky, March 15, 1929.” This image of the Sugarloaf Key tower was taken circa 1970 and was a gift of Pat Parks to the Florida Keys History Center. The tower was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017. #FloridaKeys #FloridaKeysHistory #sugarloafkey #battower #perkysbattower #lowerkeys #localhistorymatters