1861 – The Army reported that Fort Taylor had the following armament: 60 coastal and garrison cannons, 50 8-inch Columbians and 10 24-inch flanking howitzers.
1903 – The Navy destroyer and torpedo boat USS Lawrence was accidentally rammed and damaged by the passenger steamer Olivette while at anchor in Key West harbor.
1905 – Dr. Lee DeForest, inventor and radiotelegraph pioneer, left Pensacola for Key West to personally superintend the installation of the US Navy’s new wireless telegraph system.
1923 – The tomato crop on Key Largo was promising: In the previous week, 5,000 crates had been shipped, with an average profit of $4.00 per crate. And it was thought this yield represented only 10% of the year’s anticipated harvest.
1949 – Burglars tried to break into the Kress store at 500 Duval Street but were interrupted by police on night patrol. The attempted burglary came on the heels of a break-in at nearby Beachcomber Jewelers the night before, where thieves made off with $10,000 of goods.
1953 – A causeway joining Duck Key with US 1 was opened for traffic. The 1,600-foot link was based on 1.5 million cubic yards of fill. Duck Key was being developed by Canadian millionaire Bryan W. Newkirk, and he planned to build stores, shops, yacht clubs, and other community structures there.
1954 – Lawrence P. Artman, owner and publisher of The Key West Citizen, died at the Monroe General Hospital, five weeks after suffering a stroke at his desk. He had owned the paper since 1912.
1958 – A winter storm battered Key West, sinking boats and causing damage across the city. The weather bureau reported steady winds of 40 mph with gusts to 62. A total of 1.86 inches of rain fell.
1959 – Advance spearheads of Fidel Castro’s revolutionary forces entered Havana. The auto-passenger ferry City of Havana left Key West on a special round-trip to Havana to evacuate American citizens who wished to return to this country.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Duck Key in January 1953 looking south from the highway. Copyright Edwin O. Swift Jr. from the archives of Edwin O. Swift III. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.