1850 – The Spanish brig Moreno , sailing from Trinidad de Cuba to Barcelona with a cargo of sugar, aguardiente, and cigars, ran ashore...

1815 – Juan Pablo Salas, a Spanish Royal Artillery Officer stationed in St. Augustine, was granted the island of Cayo Hueso by don Juan...

1856 – The U.S. sloop-of-war Cyane arrived at Key West from Aspinwall, intending to stay for weeks. That intention was abandoned when...

1823 – Monroe County, the sixth county in Florida, was established by an act of the territorial legislature and signed by Governor...

1860 – The USS Crusader arrived at Key West with the captured slave ship Bogota . Bogota’s 411 Africans were turned over to U.S....

1828 – After six years of dispute with other claimants of the island, John W. Simonton was declared Key West’s legal owner. Simonton had...

1848 – During a voyage from Key West to Boston, the crew of the bark Zangari discovered a stowaway slave onboard. A passing...

1829 – During a gale, the British ship Britannia , carrying rum, sugar, coffee, pimento, fustic and hides from Jamaica, wrecked on Conch...

1853 – Bowne and Curry successfully tested a marine railway that was capable of lifting vessels of 500 tons. 1858 – Professor Louis...

1826 – The ship Ellen , sailing from Havana to Philadelphia, went ashore on Carysfort Reef. Wreckers saved the dismasted vessel and...

1858 – During the night, 12 enslaved Key Westers escaped from the island by stealing the Sand Key lighthouse boat. Despite a large...

1855 – Florida Governor J.E. Broome signed a law passed by the Legislature that made it illegal for any Free Black person who arrived at...

1864 – Key West’s freedmen marked the first anniversary of emancipation with a celebration at the Baptist Church. U.S. District Judge...

1806 – The schooner Sea Flower , sailing from Havana to New York, wrecked “a little northward of Key Largo.” The crew and cargo were...

1826 – The ship Gov. Strong , sailing from Alexandria to New Orleans, ran aground at Sand Key with a cargo of enslaved people in a state...

1836 – The Rev. Robert Dyce, Episcopal missionary at Key West wrote, “…there is a general desire in this place to be informed on...

Geo G. Brooks was a lawyer. 1847 – A ship’s boy rescued from the schooner St. Mary’s , wrecked at the Dry Tortugas, was discovered to...

1816 – The Ship Rebecca , carrying wine from Cadiz to Savannah, was caught in a hurricane and wrecked on the Florida Reef. The crew...

1860 – The U.S. Navy steamer Crusader captured an unnamed brig outfitted for the slave trade off the coast of Cuba and took it to Key...

1842 – The court in Key West settled the salvage case of the wrecked barque Alasco . It was determined the vessel and cargo were valued...