1850 – Captain Joh Walker of the U.S. light ship at Sand Key reported on maritime traffic that passed his vessel during the month of March: “Bound to Eastward – 10 ships, 10 barques, 7 brigs, 4 schooners; bound to Westward – 23 ships, 17 barques, 27 brigs, 10 schooners. Total, 108 sails.”
1853 – Sponging was on the rise in the Keys, and a correspondent from Key West wrote, “Our turtlers, having been offered a high price for a certain quality of sponge, have almost entirely given up catching the ‘flat foots’ and have gone sponging.”
1854 – Capt. Geiger on the pilot boat Champion discovered a derelict brigantine near Sand Key. The vessel had no equipment or cargo, and someone had set a fire in a cabin, but the flames had not spread. Below decks, it was clear the vessel was outfitted as a slave ship, and the crew had likely tried, but failed, to destroy it after having delivered captive Africans to Cuba.
1898 – The Navy was ordered to blockade the coast of Cuba. The USS Nashville about 12 miles south of Sand Key took the Spanish steamer Buena Ventura as the first prize in the war with Spain. Key West went wild over news that war with Spain had begun. The Cuban and American flags were on every house and the San Carlos was covered in red, white and blue bunting.
1923 – A Ford automobile driven by Earl Adams collided with a horse on Front Street in Key West. The car was slightly damaged; the horse’s condition was not given.
1927 – A cabin launch, the first ever built on Stock Island, was launched by builder Martin Key. The boat dubbed the Golden K was 40 feet long and carried a 150-horsepower Speedway marine engine. Key intended to use it for pleasure.
1937 – Mail truck driver Charles Albury ran over a crocodile in the road at Sugarloaf Key. Because the animal was injured, he shot it and then brought it to Key West. There, Chester Thompson, proprietor of a marine curio shop, intended to skin, stuff, and mount the 10-foot two-inch, 235-pound reptile.
1953 – The crew filming the movie “Beneath The 12-Mile Reef” arrived and took over the Casa Marina Hotel. The movie stared Terry Moore, Robert Wagner, Gilbert Roland and J. Carroll Nash who arrived with the rest of the crew. Seventy-five locals were used as extras in the film.
1972 – The old Monroe General Hospital on Stock Island was being converted to offices for use by the expanding Monroe County government.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A postcard of the Monroe County Hospital on Stock Island circa 1950. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.