Today in Keys History – August 27, 2024
- Keys History Center
- Aug 26, 2024
- 1 min read
1909 – Twelve Overseas Railroad workers were killed and 17 badly injured when 700 pounds of dynamite accidentally exploded at Boca Chica Key. The accident happened after one of the men killed unintentionally tossed a lit cigarette into a box of fuses linked to the dynamite.
1915 – After the requisite number of children were found to be living in the area, the Monroe County Superintendent of Public Instruction announced that a new school would be opened at No Name Key for the upcoming school year.
1966 – Captain Peter S. Knight, a Key West native, was killed in action in Vietnam. Captain Knight graduated from Key West High School and the University of Florida.
1971 – The abandoned lighthouse at the entrance to the Northwest Channel, frequently rumored to have been used by Ernest Hemingway, was destroyed by fire.
1999 – The Key West Chamber of Commerce released its “Econometric Model,” which showed tourism provided 53% of the island’s income; the military 16%; independent wealth 9%; commercial fishing 8%; and federal/state expenditures 5%.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The No Name Key school house, ca. 1915. Copied from Sweeney Family Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.