1844 – The ship Louis XIV, sailing from New Orleans to France, struck the reef near Indian Key with a cargo of cotton, coffee, lead, and tobacco. Wreckers recovered much of the cotton and expected to get the ship off.
1853 – A booby was shot at Indian Key, and it was found to have a note around its neck that read: “I, Booby, take my departure from ship Moses Taylor, N.Y. French, master, 14 days from New Orleans, bound to Liverpool, lat 24 30’, long 80 15’ west. I have not had one hour that I could not brace the yards in one point since leaving S.W. bar of the Mississippi. If this falls in the hands of anyone bound to the United States, please report all well. (signed) N.Y. French”
1890 – Thomas Ash, who was in charge of construction of the new County Courthouse, was elected city surveyor by the Key West City Commission.
1898 – Coal Passer Walter G. Monroe, USS San Francisco, died of meningitis in the Army Hospital at the Convent.
1923 – Thirty men were employed in construction of the golf course on Stock Island, and engineers were contemplating hiring more to hasten the completion of the project.
1925 – Governor John W. Martin named Miss Ileen Williams as the county’s first Juvenile Judge.
1941 – The Navy was conducting a defense housing survey and asked all Key West residents provide information on vacant rooms or apartments. The information would help defense planners know if additional housing needed to be built in the area.
1981 – The Navy was dismantling the large radio towers that had stood on the Naval Station since the early part of the century.
1985 – Jeanette T. Cooper of Key West was installed as the first woman president of the Southeastern Fisheries Association.
1990 – The movie “CrissCross” was being filmed in Key West.
2015 – Wal-Mart representatives spoke to the Key West Chamber of Commerce about their plans to build a 135,000 square-foot “super center” on Rockland Key. They were questioned about employee housing, wages, and traffic impacts.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Naval Station Waterfront at the Little White House circa 1918. The three radio towers can be seen. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.