1828 – After six years of dispute with other claimants of the island, John W. Simonton was declared Key West’s legal owner. Simonton had bought Key West from Havana resident Juan P. Salas in December of 1821 for $2,000.
1828 – The U.S. Congress approved the creation of a southern judicial district for the territory of Florida headquartered at Key West.
1860 – The U.S. Navy steamer Crusader captured the slave ship Bogota off Cuba with 411 Africans on board and started with the vessel toward Key West.
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.
1965 – The main ship channel was dredged to a depth of 35 feet and 1.1 million 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.
1974 – Consulting engineers advised the board of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority that a quick way to deliver a much-needed supply increase into the Keys would be to blend treated water with “raw” water from the Florida City aquifer, though such a move would require approval by state health officials.
1983 – The Monroe County Zoning Board, in a historic first, denied 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 Boulevard.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The beach on the north side of the Key West Army Barracks, ca. 1900, before Trumbo Point was built. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.