Hemingway owned the home from 1931 until his passing in 1961. The Spanish Colonial style home was constructed of native rock hewn from the grounds and boasts the first pool built in Key West. The pool, built in the late 1930's, cost $20,000. This price prompted Hemingway to take a penny from his pocket and press it into the wet cement of the surrounding patio and announce jokingly, "Here, take the last penny I've got!" That penny is still there.
Many cats and kittens who are direct descendants of Hemingway's nearly 50 cats still make their home here. They are one of the most charming living memorials to "Papa" Hemingway. Enjoy their endless antics as they romp through the trees and grounds. Take special note of the famed six toed cats,

easy to spot as they lounge in the shade preening their enormous feet.
Ernest Hemingway, the American author whose ideas of courage and honor in a confusing and hostile world remain as inspiration to this day. Experience the calming contrast that this Key West home offered this complex man as you take a leisurely and inspiring tour of his mansion and gardens. Browse as long as you like here where Hemingway penned most of his greatest novels and short stories.
This Nobel Prize winner is considered by many to be the greatest, most influential American writer of all time. The first important writer to discover Key West and make it his home, the legacy of this man and his work draws visitors from the world over to the Hemingway Home and Museum.