1884 – William M. Artrell of Key West, and the first principal of the island’s Douglass School, was elected Grand Worthy Chief Templar at the annual meeting of the Grand Lodge of Good Templars in Tallahassee.
1911 – The Ross Company was building the east jetty in the Northwest Channel.
1927 – Cuban President Gerardo Machado, accompanied by New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker, arrived at Key West by train. Mayor Leslie A. Curry greeted the two dignitaries before they boarded the ferry to Havana.
1929 – The Navy towed the submarine S-4 into port at Key West. The submarine had sunk in an accident in 1927, killing 40 sailors. It was to be converted for use in safety tests, particularly in the development of the “Momsen Lung,” a submarine escape device.
1934 – A crew from MGM studios, headed by director Nat Spitzer, arrived at Key West to shoot a film featuring Capt. Wallace Caswell combatting various sea creatures by hand. The team planned to be in the area, shooting both above and below the water, for the next few weeks.
1953 – The new dog track on Stock Island, which was built in six weeks, drew an opening-night crowd estimated at 4,000.
2005 – Coyne’s Laundry of Marathon closed after being hit with a $131,000 sewer connection fee. The launderette had served the Middle Keys since the 1950s.
2017 – Canadian filmmaker Rob Stewart and dive partner Peter Sotis died after ascending from the Queen of Nassau shipwreck off Islamorada. Stewart was filming “Sharkwater Extinction” a sequel to his acclaimed 2006 documentary “Sharkwater.”
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: U.S. Navy testing the Momsen Lung submarine escape device on the USS S-4 off Key West in 1929. The Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier, and Pound families. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.