1822 – Congress denied a land grant to the East Florida Coffee Land Association. The group was asking for a 23,000-acre tract that included Key Largo “for the purpose of erecting a town and establishing a colony for the cultivating of vines, olives, almonds, coffee, cocoa, and cochineal.”
1936 – Clyde-Mallory steamships traveling to and from Key West and other Florida ports began offering entertainment for passengers, including games, deck sports, orchestras and dancing, talking pictures, and radios.
1937 – Betty Maloney was manager of the Key West Airport. Despite initial outrage by pilots at the appointment of a woman to the post, “She has not only organized an efficient office, but she has overcome the prejudice of the pilots and won their respect and confidence,” reported the newspaper.
1953 – The Arthur Sawyer Post 28, American Legion, petitioned the City of Key West for permission to purchase the land on which their clubhouse sat. Commissioners unanimously approved, but a final decision would come from Tallahassee. In 1947, the former country club building had been leased to the group for 99 years at $1 per year.
1955 – The Gulf Oil Company announced that it would drill a test oil well northwest of Marathon.
1986 – Key West Harbor Development, the company that the city had chosen to finance and redevelop Truman Annex, withdrew from its agreement, claiming breach of contract by the Key West City Commission.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Country Club (now American Legion) on Stock Island, ca. 1940. Gift of Curtis Stanton. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.