1839 – The salvaged cargo of the wrecked brig Mary Howland was sold at Key West for $24,153.30, with wreckers awarded 43%. After expenses, the award came to 30%, which the wreckers felt was too low. Judge Wm. Marvin said he would have given them more if they had saved the vessel itself.
1884 – In the U.S. District Court at Key West, Henry Walker, mate of the schooner Julia A. Baker, pleaded guilty to piracy. Walker had taken the vessel after the master died, impersonated him, then sold the cargo. He was sentenced to six years in prison.
1891 – Contractors began excavations for the foundation of the new Monroe County jail at Key West, which was to be built at the immediate rear of the old one. An asylum for the poor was also to be built just south of the courthouse.
1898 – The Battleship Maine Plot in the Key West Cemetery was dedicated, with an estimated 10,000 people in attendance. Principal speakers were Captain Gideon A. Lyons and Major Frank A. Butts of the Union Veteran Legion, which had provided the iron fence and gates for the plot. A flag rescued from the Maine was raised on a flag staff made from a mast of the USS Winslow.
1928 – The Pan-American Gasoline Company announced that their new, $15,000 wholesale facility on James Street in Key West was nearing completion and would be opened on December 20.
1986 – Over 1,000 fans attended opening night at Berenson’s Key West Greyhound Track on Stock Island, and they wagered $74,414 on dog races.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Battleship Maine plot in Key West Cemetery, 1899, before the Lone Sailor monument was installed. The DeWolfe and Wood Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center