1854 – The U.S. Coast Survey steamer Corwin, under the command of Lt. T.A.M. Craven, left Key West for Cape Florida. The crew planned to run a line of deep-sea soundings across the Gulf Stream channel opposite Key Biscayne.
1924 – With the recent approval of a $300,00 bond issue for the extension of the County Road from Stock Island to the Saddle Bunches, great things were forecast for Boca Chica. With its fine, white sandy beach, one pundit predicted, “Boca Chica is destined to be to Key West what Miami Beach is to Miami.”
1931 – Pauline Hemingway saved a visitor from Chicago from drowning. Mrs. W.P. Sidley became exhausted and sank beneath the water while swimming across the Bayview Park bathing pool. Mrs. Hemingway pulled Sidley from the water, and she was taken to the Marine Hospital and resuscitated.
1953 – A plan for the protection of the Florida Keys Deer was agreed upon in Washington by Congressman Bill Lantaff, officials of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and representatives of the Wildlife Federation.
1986 – The Monroe County Board of Adjustment approved plans for a K-Mart and Publix grocery store complex to be known as Trade Winds Shopping Center on Key Largo. A branch of the Monroe County Library, along with two restaurants and a bank, would also be part of the 25-acre site.
2014 – Monroe County, the City of Marathon, and the Florida Department of Transportation signed a $77 million agreement to repair and maintain the Old Seven Mile Bridge. FDOT would retain ownership of the structure and pay most of the expenses.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The Bayview Park Bathing Pool near Garrison Bight, ca. 1940. From the Louise White Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.