1830 – A report on deaths at Key West since April 1, 1829 revealed multiple causes: yellow fever, 18; worm fever, 1; visceral obstruction consequent upon the intemperance of old drunkards, 3; Mania a Potu, 3; chronic meningitis, 2; dysentery, 1; childbirth with no regular attendance, 2; gunshot wound, 1; accident, 1; consumption, 2; marasmus, 1; ulceration of the prostate glands, 1; visceral disease, 1; tetanus, 1; smallpox, 1; apoplexy, 2; and gradual decline, 1.
1852 – Right Reverend Bishop Francis X. Gartland dedicated St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church on Duval Street. The first sermon was preached by Father Hunineq, a Belgian priest.
1917 – The Polk’s Key West directory for 1917/18 listed 18 coffee shops in the city.
1921 – The Klan of the Keys was chartered at Key West. It was Klan No. 42 of the realm of the Florida Ku Klux Klan.
1926 – The British schooner City of Nassau was in distress ten miles east of Sombrero Key Lighthouse and requested assistance. The Coast Guard Cutter 299 went to assist, but no word had yet been received regarding the situation.
1946 – An exploratory well at Card Sound had reached an “oil show” strata, a very promising sign. Test drilling was happening at Big Pine Key, as well, leading many to believe “black gold” was in the Keys’ future.
1960 – Teamster Union President Jimmy Hoffa was in Key West inspecting property which had been offered as security for a business loan from the Union.
1962 – Astronaut John Glenn and his family left Key West to join President Kennedy at Palm Beach. Glenn and his family spent a secluded weekend at the Key West Naval Base after he returned as the first American to make orbital flight on 20 February.
1977 – The new Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses at 1117 White St. was dedicated.
1994 – The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office moved jail inmates from the old county jail on Fleming Street to the new facility on Stock Island. The move ended the forced prisoner releases caused by overcrowding in the old jail.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Imaage: Key West City Commissioners with sign for a street to be named for John Glenn, after he made the first space flight and spent the weekend on the Naval Station in 1962. The street name was never approved. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.