1917 – Polk’s Key West City Directory for 1917/18 listed 16 Coffee Shops in the city.
1954 – James Silver of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said that the Key Deer population was around 90, triple from the 30 that remained in 1950 when protection efforts began. He noted, though, that for a truly successful recovery, lands would have to be acquired as a permanent and safe habitat for the endangered deer.
1955 – The shrimp catch for the Key West Tortugas area for 1954 was about 17.5 million pounds, about the same as 1953 and not far below the 19 million pounds catch made in 1951, the second year of the fishery operation.
1955 – The Jack Tar hotel chain took over operations of the Florida Keys’ largest resort at Key Colony. The three-year-old, 100-unit resort would be known as “Jack Tar’s Key Colony.”
1974 – The restored Armory building on White Street was re-dedicated.
1979 – In a special election, voters approved the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority accepting a loan of $53.2 million from the Farmers Home Administration for the replacement of the freshwater pipeline from the mainland. The new pipe, tapering from 36-inches to 24-inches, would nearly triple the carrying-capacity of the old, 18-inch line.
1981 – Grace L. Jones of Key West died. For many years she lived and worked in Marathon and the Grace Jones Day Care Center is named for her in recognition of her many years of services to the Keys.
1983 – Record-breaking rainfall on top of the worst national economy since the Great Depression cut tourism in January. Business was down between 15 and 30 percent from 1982.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The water line and fishing catwalk on an old highway bridge published in the Miami Herald on Feb. 13, 1976. Photo by George Kochaniec from the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.