1836 – The Rev. Robert Dyce, Episcopal missionary at Key West wrote, “…there is a general desire in this place to be informed on religious subjects. It is much to be regretted that by some the Lord’s day has appeared not otherwise distinguished than as a day of great idleness and dissipation than the rest of the week.”
1848 – The barque Magdala, sailing from Mobile to New York, wrecked on Alligator Reef. The cargo was removed and taken to Key West.
1859 – The U.S. steamer Mohawk arrived at Key West with the seized brig Cygnet under tow. The brig had been found abandoned off the coast of Cuba, and all evidence indicated it had just illegally transported enslaved Africans to Sagua la Grande.
1910 – The wireless station at Mare Island Naval Yard near San Francisco received messages from the Key West station, 3,880 miles away, with “every word” between the operators distinctly read.
1947 – The wrecks of two Navy planes lost four days previously were recovered from 50 feet of water near the Marquesas Keys. The bodies of two of the three airmen on the planes were missing.
1949 – The presidential yacht USS Williamsburg arrived at Key West in preparation for President Truman’s upcoming vacation.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Interior view of the Navy Key West Wireless Station, C 1915. Monroe County Library Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center