1836 – Seminole warriors attacked the schooner Mary at Tavernier Key. Two of the five crewmen were shot, but all successfully escaped in a boat to Key West.
1876 – Carlos Manuel de Cespedes was elected Mayor of Key West.
1895 – A writer for the New York Sun visited Key Largo and described the small community of “Castle Town,” which consisted of three small houses with wood shingle roofs strung for a quarter mile along the beachfront. The simple dwellings held the families of David Hall, Ephraim Knowles, and Henry Stirrup – a total of 11 people.
1908 – The first surgical procedure was performed at the Louise Maloney Hospital, when Drs. Maloney, Light, Fogarty, and Warren treated Miss Hester Moore for appendicitis.
1911 – Rear Admiral Lucien Young was ordered from Pensacola to assume command of the Key West Naval Station.
1912 – John Matcovitch arrived in Key West, completing a run from Miami. The remarkable feat, made across many railroad bridges and trestles, was done in 73 hours. After he recovered, Matcovitch challenged local champion Felo Rodriguez to a two-mile race, which he won in front of 2,000 spectators.
1936 – Charles Mathews, Foreman of Tiger Hose Company No. 3, Key West Fire Department, was honored for 50 years of service.
1938 – The Cuban Gunboat General Juan Bruno Zayas arrived with Cuban civic and military officials for the celebration of El Grito de Yara.
1953 – Mary Graham was elected president of the Chamber of Commerce, the first woman to hold that position.
1953 – State Representative Bernie C. Papy announced that a contract to widen the Stock Island Bridge to four lanes, along with two miles of highway to the Boca Chica Bridge, had been awarded to the Powell Brothers Construction Company.
1979 – U.S. Secretary of Defense Harold Brown arrived in Key West for the opening of the headquarters of the new Caribbean Contingency Joint Task Force. President Jimmy Carter had established the task force to deter any Soviet or Cuban expansion in the region.
1985 – The Monroe County Commission adopted a resolution to name the Islamorada Branch of the Monroe County Library for librarian Helen Wadley.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Tiger Hose Company and truck Key West Fire Department c 1920s Wright Langley collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.