How We Got Here by Mike Smith The Ocean Reef Historical Society and Museum have asked for a series of articles concerning various points of interest in our Club’s history with the goal of presenting the origins and stories of how our complex Club came to be and evolved. This series will strive to explain our history before and after we became private. We will explore how the Sunrise bridge was built and by whom. How the Hammock Course came to be. How Snapper Point appeared one summer when it wasn’t there the previous. How the Club made do in the early days without a water plant or well. But what better way to start than to explore the origin of our Historical Society and the evolution of our museum. Back in the ’50’s and ’60’s, the Club had little rental houses located near the gas dock called ‘yachtels’. They were rented to guests coming into Ocean Reef by boat for overnight accommodations. As the hotel gained popularity, these ‘yachtels’ were moved to the staff housing area and in 2000, Monroe County designated one of them (Yachtel C-2) as a historical and cultural landmark. The Club then donated the yachtel … Continue reading How We Got Here