1823 – At Key West, a battery was erected with eight guns, under the command of Capt. Grayson, U.S. Marine Corps. A national salute was fired, and the town named Allenton. Commodore David Porter also “proclaimed some wholesome regulations, for the present government of the place.”
1925 – A Keys-wide real estate boom had prompted Key West lot owners to clean their vacant properties. In the Casa Marina area and along Flagler Avenue, where there were many open lots, the improvements were especially noticeable.
1975 – The Key West Citizen issued an editorial opinion supporting a proposed law to ban the sale of coral souvenirs in Monroe County. The idea for a ban was prompted by reports that Keys divers were going to the reef with crowbars to break away sections of coral to sell to souvenir shops.
1980 – Popular blues singer Bonnie Raitt appeared before an audience of nearly 2,000 at the old Navy softball field at Truman Annex.
1998 – Bob Hayes, fishing with Captain Alex Adler on the Kalex out of Bud ‘n Mary’s Marina on Upper Matecumbe Key, caught and released a Great White Shark that was 12 and 1/2 feet long and estimated to weigh 1,000 pounds.
2010 – The ill-fated Harbor House condominium development on the Key West Bight was auctioned on the courthouse steps in Key West. Only one model building had been constructed before the proposed complex fell victim to an economic downturn and real estate crash.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Casa Marina area from the air in the 1920s. From the Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier and Pound families. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.