March 22

A Key Deer on No Name Key in August 1993.

1901 – The Austrian ship Styria, sailing from New Orleans to France with a cargo of cotton, seed oil, and staves, wrecked and bilged on French Reef. The captain called to Key West for pumps, and wreckers went to assist.

1902 – Famed writer Mark Twain and Congressman Thomas B. Reed stopped in Key West on their way to Cuba.

1925 – I.N. Meltzer and Dan Navarro opened the real estate firm of Gato and Navarro at 505 Duval Street in Key West. Clifford Hicks was sales manager, and Rosalie Pillans was office manager. 

1941 – Circuit Court Judge Arthur Gomez granted a divorce to Betty Compton, dissolving her marriage with Jimmy Walker, former New York City mayor.

1952 – Dr. Remington Kellogg, director of the U.S. National Museum, issued a statement outlining the distinctiveness of the Key deer and stressing that the diminutive creatures are indeed a species separate from the mainland white-tailed deer.

1995 – The City of Key West and the Historic Florida Keys Foundation were evaluating plans to replace the chain-link fence surrounding the Key West Cemetery with a historic-looking fence resembling wrought iron. One estimate priced the project at $238,000.

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

Image: A Key Deer on No Name Key in August 1993. Photo by Tom Hambright. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.