1864 – Former Mayor John P. Baldwin died in Lake City, FL. He had served as Mayor of Key West from 1858 to May 1861 when all officials elected under Florida law were removed by the Federal Government when the state seceded from the Union.
1891 – The schooner Winfield, sailing from Key West to Key Largo, was traveling uneventfully in a 3-knot breeze when it was struck and overturned by a waterspout near “William’s Hammock.” The 12 men, women, and children on board were thrown into the water for 12 hours until they were rescued by the schooner Wm. Curry, captained by Henry Kemp.
1897 – Sylvanus Johnson was executed on gallows erected in Jackson Square, between the courthouse and jail. Johnson, an African American, had been convicted of raping a white woman.
1899 – The editor of the Key West Advertiser wrote about the yellow fever outbreak: “In a few weeks let us hope that the present epidemic may be numbered among the things that were. So far, as we are personally concerned, we happily have no cause for complaint beyond our ability to get supplies from New York promptly and the detention of our family against their will in a foreign city. We have found no diminution in business, and the people are still marrying and giving in marriage, happily contented, having no care; for they make it a rule to eat, drink, and be merry.”
1906 – Winds of 50 mph blew at Sand Key, and part of the island was washed away by heavy seas.
1923 – Renowned jazz trumpeter Theodore “Fats” Navarro Jr. was born at 828 Thomas Street in Key West.
1957 – Key Colony Beach became the second city in Monroe County when the 11 qualified voters at a town hall meeting approved incorporation.
1985 – A study of multiple sclerosis in Key West conducted by the Monroe County Health Department, the Florida Department of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control failed to find a cause for the high number of cases on the island.
2003 – The city of Key West and the Monroe County Sheriff’s office met to discuss the creation of a homeless “safe zone” under the Stock Island jail facility, where people would have a place to shower and sleep.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A Key Colony Beach canal C 1960. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.