The beach on the north side of the Army Barracks before Trumbo Point was built.
1900 – In a race on Key West’s Barracks Beach, a horse owned by Col. J.C. Whalton handily defeated another owned by Alex F. Fleming.
1914 – The Greek sponging schooner Amelia from Tarpon Springs burned seven miles off Key West. Four crewmen were rescued. Though no cause was given for the blaze, it occurred amidst the rising anger of Key West sponge fishermen toward their Greek counterparts, who they considered interlopers and resented for using diving equipment.
1934 – More than 20 “blackfish” whales had beached themselves along the boulevard of Key West’s southern shore, and it was supposed they had come into the shallow water to die.
1965 – The main ship channel was dredged to a depth of 35 feet and 1,100,000 cubic yards of the fill was used to create an island of 30 acres for a planned Navy fuel stowage facility that is known today as Sunset Key.
1969 – The Navy dedicated a new $250,000 building on Trumbo Point to be used as headquarters of the Key West Test and Evaluation Detachment.
1972 – Key West police removed a large number of marijuana plants after they were found growing in a densely planted patch behind an abandoned house at 803 Whitehead St. in Key West.
1980 – The Coast Guard began enforcing the President’s ban on making trips to Cuba by arresting a Los Angeles man who had gone to Cuba to get his daughter and grandson.
1983 – The new senior citizen center in Marathon was named for senior citizen advocate Mel L. Levitt.
1983 – The Monroe County Zoning Board, in a historic first, voted down a major real estate development in a 4 to 1 vote. The board turned down Planter’s Point, a 366-unit condominium proposed for Tavernier.
1991 – Scotty’s had a grand opening for its new store at 2811 North Roosevelt Blvd. in Key West.
1995 – Petty Officer Jason Dunn was awarded the Coast Guard Meritorious Service Award for rescuing a man from a capsized boat during the World Championship Offshore Power Boat races in November 1994 in Key West Harbor.
1997 – Captain Richard T. Steadman died at age 75. He had commanded the cable ship Western Union from 1956, when he relieved his father, until 1973, when the ship was retired from cable work.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The beach on the north side of the Army Barracks before Trumbo Point was built. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.