1862 – The case of the ship S.R. Mallory, owned by Wm. Curry Sons of Key West, which wrecked on the Middle Key at the Tortugas, was heard in Federal Court. The vessel sailing from New York to Fort Jefferson with troops was saved. Federal Judge William Marvin awarded the salvors a fee of $200.
1871 – Ben and Henry Baker grew the first pineapples on Key Largo for commercial purposes.
1896 – Juana Borrero Pierra, Cuban patriot, poet and painter, died of tuberculosis in Key West at the age of 18. Borrero began painting at age 5 and wrote her first poem at seven. By 1891, her work began to be recognized and published. Her gravesite in the Key West Cemetery was unidentified until 1972, when it was found by the Cuban Society of Archaeology and Ethnology in Exile.
1926 – Taxi service began in Key West with two automobiles operated by the Yellow Cab system. The cars, brought from New York, were stationed at Hotel La Concha and were on call day and night.
1953 – Miss Etta Patterson’s famous coconut cake recipe was featured in “This Week Magazine” by food editor Clementine Paddleford.
1976 – The newly developed Windsor Village Condominium compound sold units to a number of famous authors. Authors buying units in the compound were Richard Wilbur, John Hersey, Ralph Ellison and John Ciardi.
2007 – State officials announced that the popular, 25-year-old observation tower adjacent to the visitor’s center at Key Largo’s John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park would be removed, citing increased tree canopy that obstructed the view and rendered it pointless.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The grave of Juana Borrero 1877-1896 in Key West City Cemetery. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.