1790 – Captain Commander of the Bahamian schooner Surprise discovered the wreck of a Spanish vessel a little northward of Key Largo. He salvaged rigging and tobacco from it and carried the goods to Nassau.
1915 – Fire destroyed the large cigar factory of E.H. Gato at the corner of Simonton and Virginia streets. In addition, six buildings on Virginia Street were also destroyed. The loss was over $150,000, and 500 men were thrown out of work by the fire.
1917 – The first plane landed at the Naval Air Station at Trumbo Point. Lt. Stanley Parker, U.S. Coast Guard, assumed duties as commanding officer.
1937 – WPA laborers were working on the beautification of Bayview Park by replacing dead trees and shrubs, painting benches, clearing and trimming around walkways, and installing flowerbeds.
1969 – The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority hired the Aquatronics corporation to detect water line leaks in the area between Vaca Cut and the Seven-Mile Bridge, as 10 million gallons had been lost there in a “few months.”
1985 – A half dozen headless chickens were found at various New Town intersections in Key West. The bird bodies were wrapped in paper bags, along with pieces of coconut, corn kernels, and coins, leading police to believe they were offerings related to Santeria, a traditional Afro-Cuban religion.
2008 – In a last-minute decision First State Bank and the Spottswood family agreed to buy the 524-foot former military vessel Hoyt S. Vandenberg from a Virginia shipyard, clearing the way for it to be sunk as an artificial reef off Key West. The project had been planned for nearly 10 years but had run into repeated financial difficulties.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Fire at Gato Cigar Factory on Simonton Street on December 17, 1915. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center