1843 – The brig Lawrence arrived at Key West from Maine and reported that during the voyage, “A huge bright ball, resembling fire, about the size of a hogshead, appeared between the two masts… about 30 or 40 feet from the deck, and burst with a report like that of a heavy clap of thunder, followed by a sharp flash, as of lightning, stunning nearly all on board.”
1863 – The U.S. steamer Daniel Webster arrived at Fort Jefferson with 122 prisoners from Ship Island, Mississippi.
1899 – Henry Flagler informed Dr. J.Y. Porter that he had money to offer the people of Key West to help alleviate the troubles they had suffered in the recent yellow fever epidemic.
1948 – President Harry Truman arrived for a Key West vacation and he was greeted by a crowd of 25,000 people, who lined his route from Boca Chica to the Little White House.
1949 – Monroe County Commissioners voted to proceed with requirements of the Rural Electrification Administration, including the solicitation of memberships and easements for electrification from all residents of the Lower Keys. Also, Henry Hudgins of Summerland Key promised to donate land for the construction of a power plant.
1951 – President Harry Truman arrived for his tenth working vacation at the Little White House.
1954 – The 38th case of polio for the year was reported. A Navy man had been admitted with paralytic form of the disease. Of the cases reported for the year 28 had been Navy Personnel or dependents.
1998 – President Bill Clinton declared Key Largo a disaster area due to the damage caused there by Tropical Storm Mitch.
2011 – Publisher Dennis Reeves Cooper announced that, thanks to financial contributions from the community, his struggling Key West the Newspaper (aka the “Blue Paper”) would continue to be printed.
Information compiled by the late Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: President Truman on Caroline Street by the Old Island Trading Post in an open car, circa 1948-53. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.