In a guide to mariners written by William Gerard de Brahm in 1772, Duck Key was mentioned as a home to flamingoes, lobsters without claws, bottlenosed dolphins, manatees, and the double-crested cormorants called "ducks." Maybe the island, located just north of Key Vaca, got its name from these birds or maybe it was named because the landmass is shaped uncannily like a duck’s head. The truth is, no one knows for sure how Duck Key received its name. Duck Key was the home to wildlife, pirates and salt mines through the 1800s and early 1900s.

In 1953, Duck Key entered a new era when Bryan Newkirk acquired it – during a round of golf. Newkirk, a real estate agent and mining baron, was golfing with Duck Key’s then-owner, who urged him to buy it so energetically that the game was delayed. In order to finish the game before dark, Newkirk agreed to the purchase – sight unseen.

Upon visiting Duck Key, Newkirk was delighted. He envisioned it as a "complete island community" – a luxurious yachting resort and residential area. He wanted everything built there to have a tropical "West Indies" feeling and immediately began assembling a team to make it happen. His son, Bryan Jr., managed the team.

One of the first projects was the creation of the Duck Key nursery. Combining native trees and palms and thousands of Florida plants, nurseryman Jack Bard created lush Caribbean gardens that attracted myriad species of birds. Bryan Jr., and artist Robert Gene Otto designed the curving ornamental bridges over the island’s canals.

In 1955, Bryan Newkirk, Jr., suddenly died of polio. Grieving deeply, his family decided to continue the Duck Key project that he had come to love. Acclaimed architect Morris Lapidus was brought in to design the hotel in West Indies fashion. He inserted his own individual touches, such as a circular dining pavilion, and Indies Inn was born.

Over the next several years, although it changed hands several times, Indies Inn became a gala resort. In 1963, Harry Truman stayed there with his daughter, Margaret, and her husband and sons. Although he visited Key West regularly, this was his first visit to Duck Key. The former president told reporters he would remain "as long as my money holds out," and the island’s main bridge was named in his honor.

Several owners and a name change later, the Indies Inn was the jewel of Duck Key. Over the years, its celebrity guests included dignitaries, film stars and two other presidents. Additions to the property included guest villas, a marina and breakwater, a convention hall and an elegant restaurant – each one enhancing the island’s beauty and maintaining its "West Indies" feeling.

From 1984 through 2006, the Duck Key property was owned by Bruce Barrington, software developer, and the Hawks Cay Investors Ltd. Group. After extensive renovation and landscaping, it opened as Hawks Cay Resort & Marina in January 1984 – an enclave of tropical décor, plantation-like grounds, and oceanfront luxury.

After additional renovations and expansions, a joint venture between Northview Hotel Group, Behringer Harvard, and Five Star Realty acquired Hawks Cay Resort in 2007. During 2007 and into the first quarter of 2008, Northview oversaw a $36 million renovation of the resort, including a full guestroom remodel of all 177 guestrooms, 115 villas, major upgrades to the hotel’s HVAC system, upgrades to the public areas, amenities, landscape and hardscape, and major changes to the hotel’s main pool and food and beverage outlets.