1861 – Orders were issued that no vessels were to be allowed to leave Key West unless the owners and crews first took the oath of allegiance to the Union.
1894 – The U.S. Navy announced it was establishing a coaling station in Key West.
1911 – Eleven spans of the Bahia Honda railroad trestle were completed and six more remained to be made. Engineers expected the bridge to be completed by the beginning of 1912.
1934 – A team from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey began an effort to locate and mark a channel between Key West and No Name Key that was sufficiently deep for yachts. A channel between Miami and Key West was highly desired, and this would work toward that goal.
1945 – Captain Herbert Pinder towed a sperm whale into port. He harpooned the whale while returning from the Dry Tortugas.
1955 – The Southern Keys Cemetery on Big Coppitt Key opened, promising to be the only perpetual care cemetery in Keys.
1974 – Monroe County Commissioners called upon the Florida Public Service Commission to take action against the many unlicensed and uninsured “gypsy buses” operating in the Upper Keys. The small, 10-to-15-passenger buses were severely impeding legitimate transportation operators.
2004 – Hurricane Charley struck the Dry Tortugas. Preliminary damage reports indicated the dock at Fort Jefferson was damaged, as was the moat wall and sanitation system. Many trees were downed, too.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Work camp at Bahia Honda during building of railroad. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.