The Lower Matecumbe toll booth on the Overseas Highway C 1940.
1816 – The ship Mercury of Philadelphia, carrying cotton from New Orleans to Liverpool, wrecked on the Florida Reef. It refloated by putting 100 cotton bales on shore and then proceeded to Nassau to readjust.
1851 – Bishop C.E. Gadsden consecrated the Episcopal church at Key West and performed the rite of confirmation to 37 residents. “The church was much crowded, and the ceremony seemed to deeply affect the whole congregation,” a witness wrote.
1900 – Acting Assistant Surgeon J.W. Thomas of the U.S. Army reported that there had been 5,000 cases of yellow fever at Key West between September 6 and November 30, 1899.
1926 – Bertis Roberts was named Monroe County’s first school crossing guard. He was stationed at Southard and Margaret streets in front of the Harris School.
1940 – The Overseas Toll Road district reported that 13,452 vehicles of all kinds passed through the toll gates during December 1939.
1952 – The Florida Keys were experiencing a critical water shortage. The aqueduct was carrying its maximum of 3 million gallons a day, but increased demand from new homes, apartments, and motels was exceeding capacity.
2005 – The Pirate Soul Museum, featuring pirate-era relics from the personal collection of owner Pat Croce, opened at 524 Front Street in Key West. A related tavern called the Rum Barrel was next door.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Lower Matecumbe toll booth on the Overseas Highway C 1940. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center