1861 – Lt. T.A.M. Craven of the U.S. steamer Crusader issued a notice of blockade at Key West. It stipulated that no vessels would be allowed to leave Key West for, or enter from, southern ports. Travel to and from the Dry Tortugas and other Keys was excepted. Havana vessels could only carry fish.
1924 – Mrs. B.F. Emerson, leading female Florida Realtor, was in Key West with the intention of buying property throughout the Florida Keys. Emerson was optimistic that a proposed road through the Keys would lead to a land boom “unequaled to any other activity in the realty game.”
1934 – Fishermen from Thompson Fish Company while skinning a shark found human foot bones and a slipper in the shark’s stomach. No identification was ever made of the remains.
1941 – At their final business meeting of the season, members of the Key West Woman’s Club voted unanimously to purchase the Hellings Building at 319 Duval Street. Aside from using the brick building for club functions, the members intended to also use it for the public library, which they sponsored.
1989 – Professional baseball made a return to Key West when the Miami Miracle played the Charlotte Rangers at Tommy Roberts Memorial Stadium. The team was owned by musician Jimmy Buffett and comedian-actor Bill Murray, and Buffett was on hand to watch the new club in action.
1995 – The U.S. Coast Guard sent 13 Cuban refugees interdicted at sea back to Cuba. Because of a new policy requiring Cuban migrants to land on U.S. soil before they could stay, this was the first group returned in 35 years.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Members of the Key West Woman’s Club celebrate the organization’s 25th Anniversary in 1940. Members identified are Marie Cappick, Mrs. A.D. Leuthie, Mrs. G.N. Goshorn, Mrs. Allan B. Cleare, Mrs. Stephen Douglas, Mrs. Hayden Illingworth, Minnie Porter Harris, Mrs. Norberg Thompson, Mrs William R. Warren and Mrs. Edward Bayley. Photo by Jack Harris. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.