1853 – W.C. Dennis, proprietor of the Key West salt works, reported that because of an exceptionally dry summer, a bounteous crop of salt had been produced from evaporated seawater at the salt ponds.
1874 – The telegraph cable between Key West and Punta Rassa on the Florida mainland was out of order. Messages between those places had to be carried by steamship.
1899 – There were 15 new cases of yellow fever at Key West, bringing the total in the recent outbreak to 340. There had been 21 deaths from the disease, which many thought was an unusually small number. Because of the perceived low mortality, many in Key West began to doubt that the affliction was truly yellow fever. Several fights had occurred amongst island residents, the result of disputes over the genuineness of the disease.
1909 – Raoul Garcia was arrested for shooting at a man and woman riding in a carriage on the County Road in Key West. Garcia claimed he only fired in the air to scare the couple.
1937 – A plan was approved to remove WPA workers from the Keys and bring them to Key West in case of a hurricane. Coast Guard patrol boats were to be used to move the workers to No Name Key where they would be taken to Key West by automobile.
1953 – The 25th case of polio since the beginning of the year was reported. For three weeks an average of five cases a week were reported. Of the 15 cases in the three weeks, only one involved partial paralysis.
1983 – A group of New York actors, playwrights and theater supporters tried to purchase the home of the late Tennessee Williams in Key West for use as a museum. The effort failed from a lack of support and problems converting the house to a museum.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.