1847 – The esteemed Key West coconut tree known as “Cocoa Nut” died, after having been damaged in the previous year’s hurricane. The tree had supposedly been planted by Commodore Porter in the earliest days of the community and had long served as a signpost for announcements of auctions, funerals, and other community news. It was also known as “Judge Lynch” because it served as “Judge, Juryman, and whipping post” in the dispensation of punishment “connected with the purity of morals.”
1869 – Eldridge L. Ware was named Postmaster of Key West.
1890 – The Union bank at 427 Front Street was established with a capital of $50,000, R.A. Monsalvatge was the president, and Jeremiah J. Fogarty was the cashier.
1892 – The Key West Library Association was organized with Judge James W. Locke as president, Mary A. Taylor, secretary and J. Fogarty, treasurer. The Association maintained a public library of 1,200 volumes and a free reading room, supported by dues and fees of members and patrons. The Library rooms were in the Masonic Temple over the First National Bank on Simonton Street. Mrs. William Delacy was the Librarian.
1898 – Water was being brought to Key West from Tampa to meet the increased demand by the military build-up caused by the loss of the Battleship Maine in Havana Harbor.
1957 – Baseball great Satchel Paige was in Key West for an exhibition game between his Miami team and Havana’s. Paige planned to unveil his new “Hum Bug” pitch: “It hums and makes the batters buggy,” he said.
1960 – In reaction to publication of a pro-Castro letter, the Key West City Commission voted to remove the Cuban Flag from City Hall and have all city employees take a loyalty oath.
1967 – Cecil Bain was choose as jury foreman in a civil trial in Circuit Court, the first African-American to serve as jury foreman.
1971 – The charter members of the Key West Tree Commission were named by the City Commission. The members were Peggy Mills, Marie Pinder, Merili McCoy and Katie Salsbury.
1972 – Key West was experiencing a surge of nude sunbathing. In the previous week, 31 people had been charged with indecent exposure and fined.
1979 – A. Maitland Adams died at the age of 82. He had served as Mayor of Key West, City Commissioner and Monroe County Commissioner. He had worked for Thompson Enterprises Inc. from 1914 to 1968 and served as vice president and general manager.
2007 – State wildlife officials came upon a Burmese python in a North Key Largo hammock, the first time the invasive species had been encountered in the Florida Keys. The team, which was studying the endangered Key Largo wood rat, inadvertently located the snake after it had eaten a rat wearing a radio-tracking collar. The collar’s signal led them to the python’s stomach.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Protest against Fidel Castro at the San Carlos 1960. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.