Boyd & Elsie Hamilton

“Boyd’s Key West Campground was founded in 1963 by Boyd and Elsie Hamilton. Natives of small prairie towns in Saskatchewan, Canada, the newlyweds packed up their homemade camper in 1948 and headed south. Their primary goal was to escape the harsh Canadian winter, so their destination had to be WARM! Boyd and Elsie kept driving south and eventually hit the end of the road here in Key West, Florida. They fell in love with the island immediately and returned permanently the following Fall. Boyd drove a dump truck and became an electrician while Elsie worked as a substitute teacher as they began to raise their five children: Fern, Andy, Lynn, Henry and Danny. In 1962 they purchased their first piece of land of what would eventually become Boyd’s Campground. Just like much of the islands of Key West and Stock Island, the majority of what comprises the campground today was shallow bay bottom that was filled with coral rock and reclaimed from the ocean.”

It is Boyd and Elsie Hamilton’s generous donation that made the Hamilton Scholarship for students who demonstrate leadership, scholarship and motivation possible.

For more information, please visit Boyd’s Key West Campground