1844 – The brig Alwilda, sailing from Cuba to New York with a cargo of mahogany and palm leaves, had wrecked on Alligator Reef near Indian Key. Wreckers could not keep the vessel afloat, so they drove it onto the beach and were transporting the cargo to Key West.
1887 – Twelve additional cases of yellow fever were reported over the previous three days, bringing the total number of cases at Key West to 66. The U.S. Army barracks was being hit especially hard by the disease.
1911 – The average temperature for June was 82 degrees, with the highest temperature being 89 degrees on one day. Over the previous 41 years, the average June temperature ranged from 79 degrees in 1887, to 85 degrees in 1878.
1924 – Over 1,500 “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” arrived in Key West by train from Miami and other east coast cities for a convention. The city was decorated with American flags and shrine emblems, and most of the island’s automobiles bore placards stating, “Hop In Nobles.”
1934 – Via resolutions made by Florida Governor David Sholtz and city and county commissioners, control of Depression-ravaged and bankrupt Key West and Monroe County was transferred to the Federal Emergency Relief Agency’s southeast regional administrator, Julius Stone. Stone stated that he was “glad to accept the responsibility of attempting to restore the county and city to prosperity.”
1976 – Just as the Key West Bicentennial parade began, the Fire Department was called out for a fire at 1110 Eaton Street. History was repeating itself as 100 years earlier, in 1876, the Key West Centennial celebration had also been interrupted by a fire.
1983 – Underwater researchers found the bell of the English slave ship Henrietta Marie, sunk in 1700.
1990 – The National Park Service wrote Key West Mayor Tony Tarracino to express an interest in using the historic Wall & Co. Warehouse at Mallory Square as a visitors’ center and administrative headquarters for Fort Jefferson National Monument.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A Key West lane in the 1930s. From a collection of photographs taken or collected during the 1930s by 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.