1826 – The ship Gov. Strong, sailing from Alexandria to New Orleans, ran aground at Sand Key with a cargo of enslaved people in a state of mutiny. Wreckers managed to get the vessel off. Then, the crew of the U.S. Revenue Cutter Marion put eight of the enslaved “ringleaders” in irons as a way of restoring order, and with that the ship proceeded on its voyage.
1831 – The 230 Irish canal workers at Key West continued into a second day of unrest. With presence of a military guard, though, tempers cooled; by morning order returned to the island. Upon questioning, it was learned from the laborers that a work contractor had misappropriated their money, stirring their anger. Key West authorities found the man and had the money returned.
1937 – The Cuban fishing smack Joaquinito went ashore on the west side of Long Key Shoal at the entrance to the channel at Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas. The masts and some light equipment were recovered, but the hull was abandoned.
1938 – Author Carroll John Daly announced that he planned to reside in Key West. Daly was an early writer of hardboiled crime fiction and was well-known for his stories featuring the character detective Race Williams.
1940 – The Florida State Welfare Board reported that of the 2,497 students enrolled in Monroe County’s 11 public schools, 850 – one-third – were participating in the free school lunch program for the needy.
1990 – Molly Logan, a 21-year-old Key West pizza delivery driver, climbed a tree at Peary Court and chained herself to it. Logan was protesting the redevelopment of the community park into Navy housing.
2008 – Neighbors of the stalled Harbor House condominium project on the former Jabour’s Trailer Court fronting the Key West Bight were proposing a community garden for the empty property.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: An aerial of Peary Court without Navy housing Circa 1980. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center