1861 – Key West Mayor John P. Baldwin was removed from office when Florida officials were removed because of secession.
1893 – It was expected that $60,000 would be raised at Key West over the course of the month for the Cuban revolutionary fund. The money would come from $10 donations being made by virtually all of the island’s cigar makers, supplemented by other sources.
1913 – Cuban aviator Domingo Rosillo made the first successful fight across the Florida Straits, traveling from Key West to Cuba. Rosillo left the railroad facilities on Trumbo Island at 5:45 a.m. and landed in Havana at 8:10. The Havana City Council awarded him a prize of $10,000 for his pioneering achievement.
1974 – Some 4,000 barrels of fuel oil were spilled overnight at the City Electric System’s Stock Island plant after valves on massive storage tanks had been opened in what appeared to have been an act of sabotage. The FBI was investigating.
1984 – After Key West Mayor Richard Heyman suggested reviving the use of saltwater deep wells, city firefighters tested the concept on a Navy well at Trumbo Point. The results were excellent, with 1,500 gallons per minute being easily drawn. Such low-maintenance wells across the city would relieve the need for hydrants or the use of FKAA water.
2002 – The former Navy dock landing ship Spiegel Grove sank prematurely during preparations for its scuttling off Key Largo as an artificial reef. The 510-foot vessel came to rest upside down, with its stern on the bottom and its bow slightly protruding from the water.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Domingo Rosillo’s plane leaving the airfield at Trumbo Point on May 17, 1913, for the first flight to Cuba. The plane is visible as a small dot in center of sky. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.