1893 – Author Edwin L. Sabin wrote of a visit to Key West, “It is a misnomer to call Key West an American city. It is not. It has all the Cuban characteristics, and I doubt if one third of the population is naturalized. The first six persons I met after landing and leaving the wharf were unable to understand English.”
1908 – The Governor of Cuba, Charles E. Magoon, arrived in Key West on the steamer Miami enroute to Washington, DC.
1909 – The Mallory steamship Neuces, from New York to Key West with assorted freight, ran aground on French Reef. Government tugs, the revenue cutter Forward, and assorted wrecking vessels were offering assistance and taking off cargo to lighten the steamer.
1954 – The Key West High School senior class debuted its production of the play “The Man Who Came to Dinner,” with students Arthur Noble, Dennis Jolly, Bobby Delgado, and Gale Varela in leading roles.
1969 – After 123 years of service, the Key West Lighthouse was turned off by Mrs. Jennie Bethel DeBoer. Mrs. DeBoer’s parents, William and Mary Bethel, had once been keepers of the lighthouse.
1994 – An audit of the Monroe County Fine Arts Council revealed the misuse of thousands of dollars, with the executive director using funds to pay personal expenses.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Historic Key West Light, a landmark in the southernmost city, was abandoned by the U. S. Coast Guard as an aid to navigation on December 1, 1969. From the DeWolfe and Wood Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.