1829 – The four owners of the Island of Key West, John Simonton, Pardon Greene, John Whitehead and John Fleming, signed an agreement for the division of the island.
1916 – Key West Mayor Jefferson B. Brown visited Tampa to meet with officials there and learn about their city sewer system. The visit was prompted by a movement in Key West to establish municipal sewers.
1924 – H.R. Boyer, meteorologist at the Sand Key Weather Station, reported that 5,834 vessels passed the island in 1923 – 2,894 westbound and 2,940 eastbound.
1938 – The contractor building the road on Bahia Honda found traces of oil in the rocks after blasting to level the roadway.
1949 – Three Jewish refugees, all natives of Poland and Nazi concentration camp survivors, were captured at Marathon while attempting to illegally enter the country by boat. They were sent to Miami to face conspiracy charges.
1956 – Stanley Switlik announced plans for an exclusive residential subdivision on Long Point Key.
1967 – A Key West-based crawfishing boat and two boats out of Marathon were involved in a gun battle near the Cay Sal Banks, Bahamas, in which one man was killed and one wounded.
1974 – ABC Records completed shooting for a film special titled “Introducing Jimmy Buffet.”
1977 – A contract for the Harry S. Truman animal import center on Fleming Key was awarded. The facility took two years to complete and was capable of quarantining 500 head of livestock for a five-month period.
1998 – Fly-fishing pioneer Jimmie Albright died at the age of 82. He was a pioneer in catching bonefish and tarpon on fly-fishing tackle and help make it the major sport it is today.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Aerial of Long Point Key MM 56. Photo taken by the Federal Government on October 7, 1987. From the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.