1903 – A near-riot broke out during a vaudeville performance at the Cincinnati Bar in Key West. The melee started when a sailor interrupted the performers and was escorted out, which led to a fight with the owner. Other patrons got involved, and the mob moved into the street. The group then turned on the bar, throwing bricks, rocks, and anything else available. Guns were drawn, and between 50-100 shots were fired, with an unknown number of people hit. For two hours, police and sheriff’s deputies tried to gain control of the situation, but eventually troops were called from the barracks to intervene. Fourteen sailors and four soldiers were arrested, and the bar was heavily damaged.
1913 – The Mallory Line steamship Colorado went ashore at Northeast Key in the Dry Tortugas. Wrecking teams from Key West went to help, and with their assistance the steamer was eventually refloated.
1920 – Congressman J.W. Sears wrote a letter to the citizens of Key West saying, “I have just been informed by the Navy department that the contract for the work on the submarine base has been let…” The contract was for dredging, building a breakwater, and the construction of several piers for berthing a fleet of submarines at the Naval Station.
1926 – The Key West chapter of the Ku Klux Klan initiated 20 new members, all dressed in full regalia, before the audience of the Bob Morton traveling circus, which had been brought to the island under sponsorship of the organization.
1964 – The Monroe County Board of Public Instruction named the new junior high school for Horace O’Bryant, superintendent of public instruction, in recognition of his 35 years of service to the school system.
2000 – Edward Ciesinski, the first captain to run a tourist dive boat in Key West, died at the age or 91.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Aerial of Naval Station circa 1920s. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.