Rest Beach in Key West, 1930s
1819 – A boat with five men from the brig Ann arrived in Charleston. The brig had wrecked on a reef in the Florida Keys on June 15 while sailing from Matanzas to Falmouth, England with a cargo of coffee, rum, and sugar. The captain, mate, and two other crew were lost in the accident.
1858 – The bark Lyra of New York was seized at Key West under the suspicion it was about to travel to Africa on a slaving voyage. Lyra had come from Havana to change registration and was found to be carrying gear typical of slave traders – extra food and water, many eating utensils, lumber for a slave deck, and a large amount of cash.
1888 – Benjamin B. Baker, master wrecker and pioneer pineapple planter on the Keys, died at his home on Key Largo.
1900 – Key West had three newspapers. The Key West Inter-Ocean, T.J. Appleyard editor in chief, published daily except Sunday; Key West Advertiser, Q. Charles Ball editor, published every Saturday and Redemption, Luis G. Puig editor, published weekly.
1926 – Key West native Effie Knowles argued before the Florida Supreme Court, becoming the first female attorney in state history to do so. In a case known as Fuller v. State, Knowles reasoned that evidence against her client had been insufficient. She prevailed.
1935 – A campaign to eradicate mosquitoes began in Key West. Small fish were distributed to residents who were to place them in their cisterns and wells.
1941 – Funding was authorized for Civilian Conservation Corps camp SP-11 in Marathon to continue until September 30. The camp was employed in improving the Florida Overseas Parkway.
1946 – Norberg Thompson and A. Maitland Adams sold 2,000 feet of Rest Beach along Key West’s southern shore for $80,000. The sale was contingent on zoning changes that would allow a hotel to be built on the property.
1951 – The Key West Housing Authority voted to name the housing project on First Street for George Whiting Allen. George Allen served as Collector of Custom in Key West from 1897 to 1913. He ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1916. He one of the founders of the First National Bank and was president until his death on May 30, 1922.
1953 -The Navy held a Court Martial on a Lieutenant Commander who oversaw the Navy Relief smoker held at the Cuban Club in February. Seven men were charged for staging the affair which started as an ordinary “stag show” and degenerated into a sexual orgy.
2008 – The Higgs Beach Pier at the end of Reynolds Street in Key West was reopened after undergoing a three-year renovation. The pier had been badly damaged by multiple hurricanes in 2005.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Rest Beach cabanas in the 1930s. From a collection of photographs taken or collected during the 1930s by the WPA workers in Key West. The Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier and Pound families. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.