shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileFlorida

on the Gulf Coast of Florida, west of Gainesville on a cluster of small islands

Cedar Key historic seaport

Name: Cedar Key historic seaport — on ceramic tile, by WenderVista
Brand: WenderVista

— the railhead that ran the state, with a wharf still under it.

— Florida wall art on a ceramic tile, made to order

from $22

$58

6 × 6 in, glossy, hidden mount · all sizes, murals and mounts ↓

Finished by hand in Knoxville. Free US shipping over $75, on your wall in about ten days. Damaged in transit? Free replacement within 30 days; other returns within 30 days. Returns · Contact

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.

— Beside the kettle, propped on the counter.

— On the nightstand, catching the morning.

— shown in a slim black floating frame · 6 × 6 in

— bring it home

Cedar Key historic seaport, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?

One tile — square or rectangle.

How big?

the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand

6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb

Surface finish

A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.

How it sits

A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.

$58

Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.

— size

6 × 6 in

15 cm

— weighs

1.6 lb

solid in the hand

— surface

ceramic, hand-finished

art rests beneath a thin glossy finish

— from

Knoxville, TN

our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies

— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— comes gift-ready

Each tile ships in a kraft box, tied with cream ribbon, with a handwritten note from the studio if you'd like to add one.

— or build a grouping

Three or five different vistas, hung together — a chapter of places you've been, or want to go.

— a note from the studio

“Before Tampa, before Miami, this was Florida's Gulf port. The Florida Railroad reached Cedar Key on March 1, 1861, finishing the first line to cross the peninsula from Fernandina on the Atlantic. For three decades the harbour shipped cedar to the Faber and Eagle pencil mills, salt fish, oysters, and lumber. The hurricane of September 1896 took the mills and most of the wharf in a single night. What remained settled into a quieter Gulf town built on top of its own railroad ties and shell middens.

from the studio

— about Cedar Key historic seaport

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.

— the place

Cedar Key is a small city in Levy County, Florida, set on Way Key in a cluster of low limestone islands at the mouth of the Suwannee Sound on the Gulf of Mexico. It is about 60 miles southwest of Gainesville and is reached by State Road 24, which runs out across a salt marsh and three short bridges to end at the town. The 2020 census recorded a year-round population of 687. The historic harbour faces south toward Atsena Otie Key, the original townsite that was abandoned after the 1896 storm.

— informed by Wikipedia

— the year

The Florida Railroad, surveyed by David Levy Yulee, reached Cedar Key from Fernandina on March 1, 1861, becoming the first cross-state line in Florida. The town boomed as the western terminus, shipping cedar logs to the Eberhard Faber and Eagle Pencil mills on the islands and salted mullet up the coast. Henry Plant's South Florida Railroad routed traffic to Tampa in the 1880s and trade thinned; the September 29, 1896 hurricane, a Category 3 landfall, destroyed the mills and most of the docks and ended the seaport era.

— informed by Florida Railroad, Cedar Key Historical Society

— the visit

Dock Street runs along the south-facing waterfront on pilings out over the Gulf, lined with stilted seafood houses, a fishing pier, and the small Cedar Key Historical Society Museum at 2nd and D streets. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday and asks a small donation. Boat charters from the City Marina run twenty minutes south to Atsena Otie Key, the original 19th-century townsite, where a short trail passes the cemetery and the surviving pencil-mill cistern. Sunset from the pier faces straight west across open water.

— informed by Cedar Key Historical Society

— where

United States · Levy County, Florida

— position

29.1383° N · 83.0353° W

— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.

2 km S

Atsena Otie Key

abandoned 19th-century townsite

9 km NE

Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve

coastal scrub preserve

12 km N

Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge

river-mouth refuge

Cedar Key historic seaport

Atsena Otie Key

Cedar Key Scrub State Reserve

Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge

— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Cedar Key historic seaport — and about bringing the piece home.

— about the place

It was the Gulf terminus of the Florida Railroad, finished in 1861 as the first line across the state. The harbour shipped cedar to pencil mills, salt fish, oysters, and lumber until the 1896 hurricane ended the trade.

The Florida Railroad, surveyed by David Levy Yulee, reached Cedar Key from Fernandina on March 1, 1861. It was Florida's first cross-peninsula rail line and made the small port a regional shipping hub.

Eberhard Faber and Eagle Pencil operated mills on the Cedar Keys through the late 19th century, cutting local red cedar into pencil slats. The 1896 hurricane destroyed the mills and the surrounding cedar had already been largely cut out.

A Category 3 hurricane made landfall near Cedar Key on September 29, 1896, with a destructive storm surge. It demolished the mills, most of the wharves, and the village on Atsena Otie Key, ending the town's seaport era.

On Atsena Otie Key, about a mile south of the present town across open water. The site was abandoned after the 1896 storm. A short trail there passes the 19th-century cemetery and surviving foundations.

By car on State Road 24, which leaves U.S. 19 at Otter Creek and runs west about 24 miles across salt marsh and three short bridges. The closest commercial airport is Gainesville Regional, about 60 miles east.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. For families who grew up in the village or summer there, the old harbour is the image that holds the place. A Small or Medium with a handwritten note from the studio carries well.

The weathered cypress browns and Gulf greens sit well in Florida Cracker cottages, in Coastal-historic interiors with white bead-board, and in Lowcountry rooms with linen and natural rope accents.

Coastal-historic, a quieter cousin of coastal-modern, is steady in the Southeast. Old-port subjects suit it well. The Medium reads as a single restrained piece above a sideboard or a writing desk.

Above a standard sofa, the single Large or a four-tile Mural reads at the right scale. Above a console, the Medium centers cleanly. For a stair landing, a nine-tile Mural carries the full waterfront.

Yes. Order the Dura Satin or Matte finish for any room with steam or splash. Both finishes are scratch-resistant and the color lives in the surface, not on top of it.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia, no bleach. The finish is sealed and the color does not lift.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is curated and finished in our Knoxville studio. No licensing, no third-party art, no reprints from stock libraries.

— if this one stayed with you