1897 – Outgoing Mayor James A. Waddell gave the oath of office to Mayor-elect Dr. John B. Maloney, who then administered oaths to the other city officers.
1917 – Monroe County commissioners called for a special election for the issuing of a $45,000 bond for a 20-foot-wide, marl road connecting the settlement at Flamingo in the Cape Sable district with the Dade county road.
1940 – Congress passed an appropriation of $1.125 million for the rehabilitation and improvement of Naval Station Key West. The work would improve the submarine base facilities and bring the station into full compliance for small craft operations.
1952 – Mysterious towers set up on Stock Island and Key West were revealed to belong to Bell Telephone Laboratories. The 50-foot towers were being used to test the effects of a semi-tropical climate on microwave transmissions.
1960 – Hurricane Donna, a major category 3 storm, passed over the Middle Keys and caused extensive damage. On Conch Key, a barometric reading of 27.55 was recorded. Some locations on the Keys estimated sustained winds of 140 mph, with tides on Upper Matecumbe 9 to 13.5 feet above normal.
1983 – The new buoy-shaped, 16-ton concrete monument at the Southernmost Point in Key West was dedicated.
1994 – The Kmart corporation announced it would close 110 stores to cut costs, but the downsizing would not affect the Key Largo, Marathon, or Key West locations.
2004 – Monroe County officials issued a mandatory evacuation of all residents as Hurricane Ivan, a category 5 storm, threatened to cross Cuba from the south and strike the Keys.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Naval Station Key West construction, December 1, 1940. Submarine base area during filling, from Battery De Kalb. U.S. Navy photo; gift of Wendy Tucker. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.