1830 – The brig Halcyon struck at the southwest end of Carysfort Reef, but eventually beat into deeper water with the loss of the false keel and rudder. That afternoon, the captain, distressed by the accident, intentionally took an overdose of laudanum and died. He was buried on Key Largo. The mate managed to refit the rudder and sail northward.
1836 – Seminole Indians came to Key Largo and burned a small vessel anchored offshore.
1873 – A hurricane passed west of Key West, near the Dry Tortugas. Winds reached 80 miles per hour at Key West and pushed water from two to four feet deep across most of the island. Many ships and buildings were damaged. Colonel Langdon at Fort Jefferson reported that an 800-pound iron bar was sent flying over the fort’s parapet.
1901 – Harry Bentley, who tended a fruit plantation at East Cape Sable, died unexpectedly of natural causes. Bentley was a native of England but had distanced himself from family and become a recluse at the remote mainland Monroe County farm.
1914 – Nelson Francis de Sales English died in Key West at the age of 66. He had worked for the post office for more than 20 years and served as postmaster of Key West from 1882 to 1886, the only Black man to hold that office. He was also a talented musician and, with his friend Frank Welters, founded the famous Welters Cornet Band.
1923 – Harry Gwynn, who owned the “Brimstone Hill” portion of Boca Chica Key, planned to develop the property into a fruit grove by planting sugar apple, guava, and avocado trees there.
1950 – The Key West Planning Commission approved construction of a gas station at the corner of Simonton and Fleming Streets.
1953 – The Monroe County Commission accepted a 200-by-200-foot plot of land on Stock Island from the City of Key West for the construction of a juvenile detention facility.
1987 – A majority of Monroe County voters said no to a referendum that proposed a one-cent sales tax for capital improvements.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Fleming Street at the corner of Simonton Street in 1961. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.