1893 – A man named Andre Peniche was forced to leave Key West after suspicion grew that he was a Spanish spy. Cuban residents of the island questioned Peniche’s trustworthiness after had tried to instigate an uprising at the San Carlos Hall the night before.
1924 – Hugh Matheson of Miami purchased a strip of Key Largo land along Blackwater Sound that also included right-of-way for the proposed Dixie Highway extension. Matheson also intended to build a dock and yacht marina on the property.
1942 – In the early morning hours, the U.S. steamers Joseph M. Cudahy and Munger T. Ball were torpedoed northwest of the Dry Tortugas by German U-boat 507. Eight survivors from the ships were rescued and taken to Key West.
1952 – Senator Estes Kefauver, campaigning for the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, was in Key West and made a speech at the Elks Club Annex.
1989 – The Key West Economic Review Committee proposed that a 25-cent fee be charged to every person watching the sunset from Mallory Square, which would generate nearly $100,000 annually.
2011 – In a bid to quell disorderly conduct on Duval Street, Key West Police were meeting with bar owners to remind them it was illegal for their patrons to have open containers of alcohol in public.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Sunset Performers at Key West’s Mallory Square, July 1986. U.S. Navy photo by PH 2 F.P. Mastroni, from the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.