1861 – A violent storm struck the Florida Keys, and many ships were wrecked from Key West to Key Largo. The British bark Argentine, sailing from Cardenas to Greenock, struck near Carysfort light and went to pieces; the master and most of the crew were lost. Survivors managed to reach the light on fragments of the wreck.
1900 – An elderly man named Roguerra was knocked down by a rail car traveling between the coal dock and the machine shop on Naval Station Key West. The man, who was near-sighted and hard of hearing and did not sense the danger, was severely bruised.
1906 – Key West Cigar manufacturer Walter S. Lightbourn died in Batabanoa, Cuba.
1915 – Enumerator John G. Sawyer left Key West for Marathon to collect information for the state census there and in neighboring settlements of Monroe County.
1924 – Contractor Paul Boysen swung the pick to break ground for the start of construction of the La Concha Hotel.
1969 – Charles Percy Curry retired after a 65-year career with the Key West Citizen. He started with the newspaper as a carrier at age 11 and worked his way through the ranks to be head of production. During his time with the paper he operated five different presses.
1972 – Mrs. Virginia Recupero, a Key West resident, became the first American to receive a nuclear powered pacemaker in an operation at Mt. Sinai Hospital.
1978 – David Wolkowsky bought the Kress Building at 500 Duval Street from Norman Artman for $210,000.
2004 – Army Special Forces divers recovered the body of cinematographer Neal Fredericks from a submerged airplane near the Dry Tortugas. Fredericks, who had filmed the renowned 1999 horror movie “The Blair Witch Project,” was shooting for “Crossbones” when the plane he was on crashed.
2013 – Developers planned to remove 44 trailer homes from a one-acre site at 1015-1025 Simonton Street in Key West and replace them with 21 single-family condominiums, pending approval by the City Commission.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West Trailer Court, 1015 Simonton St. Tract 11, Sqr 1, Lot 1, Subs 1-12. Photo taken by the Monroe County Property Appraiser’s office circa 1965. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.