February 23

Aerial view of Tea Table Key. Photo taken by the Federal Government on October 7, 1987. 

1859 – Capt. Edward Griffiths, who had long made the run between Key West and Charleston, clarified that reports of a false light shown by wreckers near Alligator Reef were incorrect. It was instead the watch fire on Tea Table Key kept by the crew of the revenue cutter Campbell at the island’s Fort Paulding.

1925 – Florida railroad and steamship magnate Barron G. Collier arrived in Key West with the goal of opening a steamship line between Key West, Fort Myers, Tampa, and Miami. Collier had booked a suite of rooms at the Casa Marina and planned to stay for several days.

1957 – Former President Harry Truman returned to Key West for the first time since leaving the White House. He spoke at a benefit for the Truman Presidential Library in Missouri held at the Casa Marina Hotel.

1974 – The Key West Towers and Gardens Apartments were purchased by a local partnership that changed the name to Key West By The Sea and convert the units to condominiums.

Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: Aerial view of Tea Table Key. Photo taken by the Federal Government on October 7, 1987. From the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.