Built and home ported here in Key West, the Schooner Western Union Maritime Museum was launched on April 7, 1939 as a working schooner. She sailed the Caribbean and south Atlantic until 1974, logging over 30,000 miles in the service of the Western Union Company. With a 24 foot beam and drawing only 7½ feet, the Schooner Western Union Maritime Museum was designed to maintain communication cables in the shallow Gulf waters between Key West and Cuba. She was commissioned by Thompson Enterprises under contract with Western Union Company and launched off Simonton Beach. She is also on the National Register of Historic Places.

She was involved in a standoff with Cuban gun boats, participated in the Mariel Boat Lift and also served as a training vessel for troubled youths for the “Vision Quest Group”. She has been brought back to Key West and now belongs to the community.