1852 – A Key West correspondent wrote, “Our City Authorities are endeavoring to procure a suitable [Fire] Engine and Hose…as all our buildings are of wood; and should we ever have a fire in the business part of town, with such Northers as are common here, there is no knowing to what extent it would rage.
1911 – Curtiss Aircraft test pilot J.A.W. McCurdy attempted to fly from Key West to Havana. After covering 96 miles, the plane developed an oil leak and crashed in the water, just short of the goal. McCurdy and the plane were rescued by a U.S. Navy destroyer.
1925 – Tourists were complaining about difficulty in navigating Key West because most of the streets were unmarked. The city had generally relied on street names being placed on corner buildings, but too many had fallen off or been painted over.
1927 – New York Mayor James J. Walker stopped in Key West on his way to Cuba. Mayor Leslie A. Curry welcomed him to the Island City.
1929 – President-elect Herbert Hoover arrived at Long Key Fish Camp by train from Miami. He boarded the houseboat Amitie for his second attempt to land a sailfish.
1947 – Al Jolson, stage and radio star, appeared at the Birthday Ball at the Key West Naval Base. He also appeared at the Casa Marina for the March of Dimes campaign.
2000 – Flagler Station, a “historeum” dedicated to telling the story of the Overseas Railroad, opened at the corner of Caroline and Margaret streets in Key West.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The rescue of J.A.W. McCurdy and his airplane after his failed attempt to fly from Key West to Cuba on January 30, 1911. Gift of Warren Henderson. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.