Aviator Domingo Rosillo, sitting in the back of the car next to the flag.
1836 – The remaining men of the company once under the command of Major Francis L. Dade arrived for their new station at Key West under the command of Lieutenant B. Alvord. Major Dade, along with many of his troops, had been killed in a mainland battle with Seminole warriors in December 1835.
1843 – The British brig Ann Johnson, sailing from New Orleans to St. Johns, NB, ran onto the reef near Tavernier Key and was in a perilous situation. Wreckers got the vessel off with little injury, towed it to Key West, and were awarded $2,000 for the salvage.
1859 – A fire began in the warehouse of L.M. Shaefer near the corner of Front and Duval streets. With the exception of two houses, the fire destroyed every building in the area bounded by Front, Greene, Simonton and Whitehead streets.
1860 – African refugees from the bark William were brought ashore at Key West. The bark had been seized by the U.S. Navy for carrying captive Africans to Cuba in violation of international law. The Africans were taken to the specially built “African depot” at the southwest corner of the island.
1870 – Alexander Patterson, one of Key West’s first settlers, died at the age of 80. Between 1841 and 1868, he had served six terms as mayor.
1884 – The commanders of Naval vessels stationed at Key West met with the mayor to discuss possible mob attacks. Intelligence had been received from Washington that pro-Cuba elements were planning violent actions against Spanish officials on the island.
1888 – Work on the Key West Custom House was progressing rapidly. Workmen were employed nine hours a day driving pilings for the foundation via a steam-powered engine, which could drive a 16-foot pile in short order.
1938 – Cuban aviator Domingo Rosillo, who had gained fame as the first man to fly from Key West to Havana 25 years before, was in Key West for a celebration of his achievement.
1944 – Florida’s Governor Spessard L. Holland dedicated the new Overseas Highway. The new highway used the railroad right of way and bridges to make a modern road on the Keys. After the Hurricane of 1935 the only part of the railroad right of way used for the highway was from Lower Matecumbe to Big Pine Key.
1952 – Biologist, writer, and conservationist Rachel Carson was preparing to leave Key West after having spent ten days at the Key Wester Motel working on the follow-up to her influential book “The Sea Around Us.” The new volume, to be titled “The Edge of the Sea,” would include a section on the Florida Keys.
1976 – Singleton Corporation announced they had bought Sea Farms, Inc. and Thompson & O’Neal Shrimp Company. The purchase included most of the waterfront of Key West Bight.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Major Domingo Rosillo in the back by the flag. Driving is Arturo Boza. Gift of Arturo Boza, Latin American Chamber of Commerce. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.