1905 – The Key West Fire Police met and adopted new rules, including the holding back of crowds with ropes at fires, with only firemen allowed inside the perimeter. Too often, crowds had interfered with firemen busy fighting blazes.
1906 – A category 2 hurricane crossed the Upper Keys, causing damage to the Overseas Railroad under construction. The storm hit the railroad construction crew without warning, killing 164, most when the houseboats in which they were living were carried to sea and sunk.
1924 – All of the Democratic nominees in Monroe County would be without opposition in the coming November election. The Republican party had certified only presidential electors.
1944 – A hurricane with winds of 80 mph swept across the Keys. The worst damage in Key West was to South Roosevelt Boulevard, and the Navy had six vessels aground in the outer harbor.
1995 – Key West’s famous Turtle Kraal Cannery fell into the water of Key West Bight. The city rebuilt the building, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.
1999 – The Monroe County Tourist Development Council’s “Opening Cuba Committee” expressed concern that the Keys might become a literal parking lot as travelers from the north boarded ferries to Cuba and left their vehicles behind.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Damage along South Roosevelt Boulevard from the Hurricane of October 1944. Photo by E. J. Quinby. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
