1865 – Henry Johnson of the 2nd US Colored Troops, Company B, died at Key West and was buried in the Post Cemetery on White Street.
1909 – Railroad work between Boca Chica and Stock Island was progressing rapidly. A large force of men and several new dredges had everything in a “bustle and stir.” The section was expected to be completed ahead of schedule.
1911 – Norberg Thompson opened the Key West Box Factory for the manufacture of boxes for the cigar industry of Key West. The factory was capable of producing 7,000 boxes a day from wood imported from Cuba.
1918 – Key West resident and U.S. soldier Joseph Camus was in a French hospital, having been gassed during a battle with the German army.
1933 – The new Lighthouse on Tennessee Reef was lighted for the first time. The new light was 40 feet above mean high water and could be seen for 15 miles.
1936 – The Interstate Commerce Commission approved a request by the Florida East Coast Railroad to abandon the Overseas Railroad. This action cleared the way to build a highway over the old bridges.
1952 – A partly buried skeleton and coffin found in 6 inches of water off Boca Chica Beach was identified as the grave of George Roe. Roe had lived at Boca Chica and was killed there in a hurricane in 1910. He had been buried on the beach in a casket made from the remains of his house.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Florida East Coast Railway, Key West Extension. Building the Boca Chica Bridge of the Florida East Coast railroad about 1910. Gift of Mrs. Nora K. Smiley. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.