1888 – Benjamin B. Baker, master wrecker and pioneer pineapple planter on the Keys, died at his home on Key Largo.
1918 – France’s Independence Day was observed at Key West with the tri-color flag flown from government buildings. Flags and bunting decorated the war vessels in the harbor, and at noon a salute was fired by the Navy.
1924 – Mr. and Mrs. W.P. Sheppard, large holders of realty at Miami Beach, purchased 92 acres on Boca Chica Key. With a bridge to soon connect it to Stock Island, the Sheppards had great faith in the future development of the key.
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 was one of the founders of the First National Bank and was president until his death on May 30, 1922.
1974 – A two-story building at the Little Basin Marina in Islamorada burned to the ground in a suspicious 3 a.m. blaze. Witnesses reported hearing a “muffled sound” shortly before the fire broke out, and investigators found a safe with its door broken open in the ruins.
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.
2014 – In a deal between two Miami property companies, Habana Plaza in Key West was sold for $7.4 million. The 1963 shopping center had been home to Key West’s City Hall since 2010.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Higgs Beach Pier damaged, taken on May 19, 2006. Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.