1835 – Alden A.M. Jackson was conducting a school in the Monroe County Courthouse. The costs were from $2 to $4 per month depending on the field of study.
1884 – The Key West Gas and Electric Light Company was incorporated with J.J. Philbrick, president; R.A. Monsalvatge, secretary and J. Fogarty, treasurer. The electric plant cost $90,000 and had a capacity of 2,000 incandescent lights and 50 arc lights.
1884 – The US warships Alliance and Tennessee, along with two revenue cutters and steam launches, were stationed around Key West to prevent any filibustering expeditions from leaving the island for Cuba.
1929 – Warren Sawyer caught an unusual “hybrid” creature near the Saddlebunch Keys. It was 10 inches long, with the tail of a crawfish and the body of a crab. On either side of the tail were two, inch-long spikes, “evidently used for defense.” It also had three extra legs on either side of its body. Even old-timers were perplexed by it.
1934 – The Coast Guard cable ship Pequot replaced 2,700 feet of storm-damaged telephone cable between Key West and the Sand Key lighthouse. Telephone service at the small island was indispensable for lighthouse staff, as well as for mariners who found themselves stranded there.
1949 – The new Monroe County Beach was dedicated. Judge Thomas S. Caro was the speaker and Frank Bentley, Chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, made the formal dedication. The County issued a $350,000 construction bond for the new beach.
1958 – Mrs. Evelio Cabot, a teacher at Truman School, was named the outstanding elementary school teacher in Florida. Mrs. Cabot had been a teacher at the school for 25 years.
1995 – The first families began moving into the controversial new Navy housing units at Peary Court.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: An aerial of Peary Court without Navy housing circa 1980. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.