February 27

A dredge at work in Key West Harbor, ca. 1965.

1925 – Three hundred racing dogs were to train in Key West over the coming month, and 50 of the dogs and their trainers were already working at a makeshift track built at the “Arnold square” on United Street. After training, the canines would go to Havana for the racing season there.

1929 – U.S. Navy tests of the Momsen Lung conducted on the submarine S-4 near Smith Shoals ended and were declared a success with men able to escape from the submarine on the bottom using the lung.

1953 – The Jesston Corporation sold 330 acres of the new Marathon Beach area to Stanley Switlik for a reported price of $200,000.

1960 – Four Key West teens who made bomb threats against Key West High School earlier in the month were sentenced: One, the caller, was ordered to one year at the Florida School for Boys in Marianna, while the three others were each given one year of probation.

1964 – The Navy awarded a $1,967,209 contract to Bauer Dredging Company to deepen Key West’s main ship’s channel to 34 feet, enlarge the turning basin, and deepen the Naval Station’s submarine basin.

1971 – Astro City playground at Higgs Beach was dedicated. The park was a project of the Junior Woman’s Club.

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

Image: A dredge at work in Key West Harbor, ca. 1965. Tank and Wisteria Islands in background. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.