1861 – At Fort Independence in Boston Harbor, Major Lewis G. Arnold of the 2nd United States Artillery was ordered to “embark your company for Fort Jefferson, on one of the Tortugas Islands, to garrison the same under your command.”
1923 – J.F. Urbach, collector of internal revenue, calculated that 43,396,675 cigars were made at Key West in 1922, with 4,406,743 in December alone.
1929 – The P. & O. Steamship Company announced daily service both to and from Key West and Havana, effective immediately.
1950 – Cupid won out in Monroe County in 1949: There were 358 marriage licenses issued and 314 divorce petitions filed during the year.
2008 – A Florida International University report said Monroe County professionals were paid 9 percent less than their statewide counterparts. They also faced greater housing costs, with most Keys workers spending more than half their income on mortgages or rent.
2013 – Kahar LLC, a group of Colorado and Pennsylvania investors, claimed to have found a shipwreck in 300 feet of water off the Florida Keys. The group explored the unnamed location with a submarine and saw what appeared to be cannonballs. They hoped there might also be treasure.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Cortez Cigar Factory in the 100 block of Ann Street C 1920. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center