Today in Keys History – February 4, 2024
- Keys History Center
- Feb 3, 2024
- 2 min read
1906 – John D. Rockefeller was staying on board a private yacht at Key West. He was spotted dining at a local hotel.
1941 – In a special election, the freeholders of the county voted 493 to 12 to approve a bond of $40,000 to build a county airport at Boca Chica. Only 90 eligible voters failed to appear at the polls.
1946 – Technician fourth grade Kermit D. Forbes of 1012 Howe St., Key West arrived in the U.S. from Saipan onboard the USS Santee. He was one of 1,075 Army veterans who had come home on the ship for discharge after service in the Pacific. Forbes, popularly known as “Shine,” was known for having boxed with Ernest Hemingway.
1961 – A groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new building of the St. James Missionary Baptist Church at the corner of Olivia Street and Terry Lane in Key West. The first building was constructed in 1876 and rebuilt in 1913.
1967 – An $18,000 purse seine net was cut from a Pinellas Seafood trawler near the Marquesas Keys during a conflict with at least 10 other fishing vessels, and the FBI was investigating what was possibly an act of piracy. Keys fishermen had long resented the large, high-volume trawlers for driving down catch prices.
1974 – Residents from Key West to Marathon were asking the Monroe County Commission to help resolve the poor service they were getting from Cable-Vision. The television provider was charging $9.10 a month for three channels.
2007 – The City of Key West was working to halt the parking of electric rental vehicles along Front and Greene streets at Clinton Place, as the owners were taking over all the spaces to entice cruise ship passengers into renting them.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: St. James Missionary Baptist Church, 312-314 Olivia St,; Tract 3, Sqr 3, Pt Lot 4. Photo taken by the Property Appraiser’s office ca. 1965. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
