1842 – The United States signed a contract to build a Marine Hospital at Key West to treat merchant marine sailors. The Marine Hospital Service would eventually become the U.S. Public Health Service.
1886 – Col. F.N. Wecker was appointed superintendent of the horse car line at Key West. He planned to add cars, re-ballast the lines, and add extra switches on Front Street, all to “secure better connections for the benefit of the traveling public.”
1909 – The schooners Reliance and Freddie W. Alton arrived at Key West from Tampa with cargoes of gasoline for the Standard Oil Company.
1934 – Nelson English Park at the corner of Thomas and Louisa streets was dedicated, and Samuel J. Welters was the speaker for the event. The park was named for Nelson English, who worked for the post office for more than twenty years and was Key West postmaster from 1882 to 1886.
1963 – Royal Castle opened its first Key West restaurant at the corner of North Roosevelt Boulevard and Fifth Street.
1974 – In emergency repairs by the State of Florida, the old wood pilings of the Cow Key Channel Bridge were replaced with steel “H” pilings. The repairs would allow fully loaded garbage trucks to resume operation.
1999 – A group of 35 No Name Key residents sued Monroe County and the City Electric System for the ability to hook up to permanent electrical service. The group, called Taxpayers for the Electrification of No Name Key, was tired of the limited service provided by loud generators.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Horse trolley on Duval Street passing 336 Duval Street ca. 1890. Ed Knight Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.