1837 – Capt. Hiram Benner of the wrecking schooner United States reported at Indian Key that he had found a submerged, dismasted vessel near the Cape Florida lighthouse with a cargo of mahogany, cochineal, and hides. The body of a man and parts of other bodies were in the hold. It was supposed the vessel was Spanish and had been lost a month previously.
1875 – The commandant of troops at Key West reported that two cases of yellow fever were found on the island and that he had moved his men to another locality beyond the reach of the disease.
1886 – In the aftermath of the previous day’s devastating fire, hundreds of people were poring over the remains of their property, salvaging what they could. Food was scarce, and telegraphic messages were sent out for relief. It was estimated that 4,000 would be unemployed by the disaster.
1898 – Five bodies from the Battleship Maine were buried in the Maine Plot in the Key West Cemetery.
1924 – Stones from historic structures in Cuba were sent to Key West to be placed in the façade of the San Carlos Opera House. It was said they were being accompanied by several prominent Havana men.
1933 – Wm. W. Demeritt submitted his two-year study of mourning doves to the U.S. Biological Survey in Washington. In his research, Demeritt captured, tagged, and released 706 doves in the vicinity of Key West and then kept records of what became of them.
1952 – The skeletal remains of Lelanette Roberts, long missing Key West beauty, was found on Saddle Bunch Key. Miss Roberts vanished without a trace on August 7, 1949.
1971 – Racial unrest over the arrest of a 15-year-old led to two buildings being firebombed. The Benitez Grocery at Simonton Street was damaged by a firebomb that may have been a decoy for the attack on Padron’s Grocery at 800 Whitehead St., which was destroyed by fire.
1979 – The movie “The Last Resort” was being filmed in Key West.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Padron’s Grocery, 800 Whitehead St. Photo taken by the Property Appraiser’s office circa 1965; destroyed by fire circa 1975. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.