Today in Keys History – Nov. 15, 2022
1830 – William R. Hackley recorded in his diary: Rose with the sun and studied a case of bill of exchange till 10. Went up to the courthouse, the case of the United States vs. Matthew Furlong came up today. Henry W. Fontaine asked me to assist him in the case which I did and spoke a few minutes. The Judge was taken so unwell on the bench that when the jury retired he had to go upstairs and lie down and could not come down to take their indictment but directed that it be sealed up and the court adjourned till 10 tomorrow. The Schooners Thistle and the Florida came down this forenoon. I received this morning per the Sloop Spermaceti a letter from Sister. Broke open the one I wrote yesterday and acknowledge the receipt of it. A schooner, the Glide of Bath, arrived this morning with merchandise. Just before sunset the Schooner Mobile arrived from Charleston. After tea played whist till 10. The wind northeast and weather cool.
1908 – Captain A.B. Potter of the R.G. Ross Construction Company arrived to begin work on rising the east jetty of the Northwest Channel. The work required six months and 30,000 tons of Massachusetts granite to complete.
1948 – The Key West City Commission voted to change the name of Division Street to Truman Avenue in honor of President Truman’s visit to the city.
1950 – Shirley J. Garson became the first woman in Key West to become a U.S. Coast Guard licensed charter boat captain.
1959 – Allen E. Curry was the manager of Gulf Oil Corporation located at 0 Duval Street.
1960 – An oil rig from Trinidad arrived at Stock Island for inspection by U.S. Customs. The rig was taken to the Marquesas where the California Company drilled a test well.
1993 – Judge Regan Ptomey rejected a retrial for Rocky, the 7-pound Chihuahua who managed to impregnate Canella, an 80-pound Rottweiler. Rocky’s owner had been ordered to pay $2,567.50 in damages.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: Photo from the Wil-Art Studio, gift of Angie Marine. Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library. https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/3194643158