1825 – Lieutenant Otho Stallings of the US Navy died of yellow fever at Key West.
1891 – The Key West City Commission passed an ordinance prohibiting the killing or trapping of any songbird.
1905 – The schooner A. Hayford, from Mobile to Havana with lumber, wrecked at Southwest Reef in the Dry Tortugas. The crew was rescued, though the captain was badly injured. The Hayford was a total loss.
1910 – A slow-down of work on the Overseas Railroad left about half the labor force unemployed. Many of the jobless were milling about Key West with no resources. Mayor Fogarty arranged to have the idled men fed at noon each day; others helped them find transportation out of the Keys.
1911 – The 1910 U.S. census showed Key West had a population of 19,945. This was up from the 17,114 residents in 1900.
1925 – It was a “liquid sunshine” day at the Key West Custom House, as authorities poured various brands of confiscated liquor into the ocean near the western foot of Greene Street.
1927 – The Army announced that the post cemetery of the Key West Army Barracks would be moved to Barrancas National Cemetery in Pensacola.
1939 – The Monroe County Commission heard a proposal by Judge Raymond B. Lord for an electric light and power plant at Marathon, with the construction to be done by Charlie Toppino. Lord explained that with rapid increases in land purchases and the construction of homes and businesses there, electric lighting was essential to the development of the community. The commissioners agreed with the idea but said they could not grant an exclusive franchise.
1943 – The U.S. government began building the High School Annex on United Street. The $65,000 schoolhouse had 14 rooms and was funded entirely the federal government.
1971 – John Dedek purchased the neglected property at 227 Duval St. He later restored it and opened the Fogarty House Restaurant and Cafe.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Army Barracks and Cemetery circa 1890. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.