1854 – The bark California, sailing from New Orleans to New York, ran onto Conch Reef with a cargo of molasses. Wreckers removed 250 barrels and were then able to pull it off the reef. An award of $3,413 was given for salvage.
1874 – Two thousand U.S. naval forces practiced landing drills on the beaches of Key West. The exercises were part of a show of strength resulting from a dispute with Spain over its capture of the ship Virginius and the execution of some of its American crew.
1894 – Mason Moreno was named Postmaster of Key West.
1898 – Rear Admiral Montgomery Sicard, Commander Atlantic Fleet on the USS New York anchored off Key West, was before a retirement board that relieved him on account of physical disability.
1924 – The first six holes of the golf course on Stock Island were opened for play.
1927 – The British schooner Waegwoltic was captured off Duck Key by Coast Guard Cutter 224 with 7,000 cases of pure alcohol.
1933 – One hundred and fifty sacks of flour were distributed to the needy in Monroe County, bringing the total to 1,376 for the year.
1941 – Ed Ball, general manager of the Alfred I. Dupont estate, purchased 600 acres of land on Upper Matecumbe, Little Torch and Sugarloaf Keys.
1943 – Twenty-nine men rescued from an American merchant ship that had been torpedoed in the Caribbean were delivered to Key West. It was the first such attack in the area in several months.
1954 – The Key West City Commission voted to accept the 70-foot Riviera Canal from developers Golan, Helberg and Conley. Construction of the canal cost the developers $2 million.
1979 – Activist Lawrence Gomez had collected 3,000 petition signatures to abolish the City of Key West. Gomez told the City Commission that he would not submit the petition for verification or request a referendum because he did not want city employees to lose their jobs.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The USS Helena and the USS New York at sea in 1898. From the Louise White Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.