1823 – Commodore John Rodgers wrote about Key West, “Nature has made it the advance post from which to watch and guard our commerce passing to and from the Mississippi, while, at the same time, its peculiar situation, and the excellence of its harbor, point it out as the most certain key to the commerce of Havana, and to that of the whole Gulf of Mexico…”
1837 – The French brig Nantaize, carrying a cargo of logwood from Campeche to Marseille, wrecked on Conch Reef and was badly damaged. Wreckers got the vessel off and towed it to Key West, where they filed a salvage claim for their efforts.
1858 – A U.S. soldier broke into a Key West home and was arrested and fined $25 by the mayor. Unable to pay, he was held in the guardhouse. Some citizens found the punishment insufficient, so they hauled the soldier out of confinement and beat him. After he told his story to his fellow soldiers, 40 of them took to the streets of Key West for revenge, armed with bayonet rifles. After much excitement and near violence, military officers and the city council were able to restore peace to the island.
1859 – Key West wreckers salvaged 1,600 bales of cotton from the ship Eliza Mallory, ashore near Palm Beach. The vessel had filled with water and was expected to go to pieces.
1864 – A soldier at Fort Jefferson wrote of their Thanksgiving meals, “For dinner today we had fried pork, good potatoes, bread, & coffee with condensed milk. For supper we had some bread & butter that costs 70 cents a pound, some fried cakes, pickles, sugar & tea.”
1886 – The Rev. Mr. Barnett of the Methodist Episcopal Church at Key West had been absent from the island for the past 10 days, as he was visiting church members in the Upper Keys. Barnett was hoping to establish a new congregation at Key Largo.
1901 – The population south of Lake Okeechobee, comprised of Lee, Dade, and Monroe Counties, was 26,092. The population of Dade County was 4,955 and Lee 3,071, with the rest in Monroe County.
1922 – Bessie Redman and Corrinne Dowd arrived in Key West after having walked (assisted by the occasional automobile ride) 4,000 miles from Los Angeles. They made the trek in five weeks and six days.
1971 – Frank Romano and Joe Liszka opened Key West Fragrance and Cosmetics.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Frank Romano and Joe Liszka, Key West Fragrance and Cosmetic, 528 Front Street October 7, 1975. Wright Langley collection. Monroe County Library Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center