1828 – The first term of the Superior Court Southern Judicial District of the Territory of Florida was held in Key West.
1855 – The Key West Key of the Gulf began publication as a weekly newspaper.
1863 – Two prisoners recently delivered to Fort Jefferson escaped to Loggerhead Key on a rowboat. From there, they stole a sailboat and were never heard from again.
1924 – The Hamilton W. Wright syndicate of newswriters sent out a series of photographs and articles about the causeway and bridge being constructed between Key Largo and the mainland. The dispatches would be published in newspapers worldwide.
1932 – Two talking films, “Dave Lowell Figures It Out” and “What’s Ahead” were shown for free to Key Westers at the high school auditorium. The movies offered advice on how be successful in the dairy and poultry businesses.
1941 – Five young men employed at the Civilian Conservation Corps camp on Cudjoe Key joined the Navy. Guy F. Hull, Chief Carpenter’s Mate from Miami, who was in the Keys on a recruiting drive, handled their enlistment.
1965 – Key West Mayor Kermit Lewin cut the ribbon to open the Sears Store in the new shopping center on North Roosevelt Boulevard.
1981 – A 2 percent tourist tax for Key West was approved by the voters. It was estimated that the tax would bring in $425,000 to $450,000 annually to be used to promote Key West as a tourist attraction.
2011 – Monroe County Sheriff Bob Peryam said he would not seek re-election in 2012. At the same time, undersheriff Col. Rick Ramsay announced that he would seek the job.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West Mayor Kermit Lewin cuts the ribbon to open the Sears Store, 1965. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.