1884 – Walter C. Maloney died in Key West at age of 71. He was a lawyer and had served in the state legislature from Monroe County and as Mayor of Key West. During the Civil War, he supported the Union and organized a volunteer corps to support U.S. troops. On July 4, 1876, he gave a speech about the history of Key West, which was later published as the first written history of the island.
1901 – An election was held for bonds to improve the public schools, build an armory, repair the county courthouse and continue developing the county road. Only 200 of the 900 qualified voters cast their ballots, and all the issues were defeated.
1906 – The German Steamship Savilla arrived at Key West with 5,500 barrels of cement for construction of the Florida East Coast overseas railroad. With other recently arrived shipments, there were now 18,000 barrels in the warehouses and ready for the project.
1953 – The fourth and fifth cases of polio in Monroe County for the year occurred in a Navy man and his wife. They were diagnosed at the Key West Navy Hospital with “non-paralytic” polio.
1974 – The Florida State Cabinet authorized an emergency allocation of $10.08 million to repair 35 bridges in the Florida Keys. Earlier in the year, FDOT declared that 37 of Monroe County’s 44 highway bridges would need to be replaced entirely and imposed weight restrictions the structures.
1994 – After growing demonstrations and political unrest in Cuba, Fidel Castro threatened to unleash a flood of refugees. Over 5,000 Cubans had already escaped to Florida during the year, with the vast majority having arrived in the Florida Keys.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Walter C. Maloney. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.