1912 – Over 300 Key West property owners attended the City Council meeting to protest the new tax assessments, which they complained were too high. The councilmen agreed to kill the new rates and maintain those of the previous year.
1918 – A liberty boat returning to the USS Salem overturned and 18 men drowned. Eight bodies were recovered and buried in the Battleship Maine Plot in the Key West Cemetery. The Salem was flagship of the 12 submarine chasers based in Key West.
1934 – The “Florida Motorist” magazine featured a large spread advertising Key West as a tourist destination.
1938 – Key West resident Charles F. Dupont died at age 77. He was the first African American to be elected Sheriff in Florida, when voters selected him as Monroe County Sheriff in 1888. Dupont served for five years, until 1893.
1958 – The bypass around the Naval Air Station Boca Chica was opened for traffic and the Station opened the new main gate off the highway overpass.
1974 – The federal government transferred property near County Beach and the West Martello Tower to Monroe County. The land, bordered by White Street and Casa Marina Court, would be used for a park.
1999 – Representatives of Greenpeace’s Climate Campaign were in Key West to warn of the effects global warming would have on the reef. They said increased temperatures would likely make coral bleaching common in the coming decades and increase threats from disease and hurricanes.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Charles Dupont and family. From left: Irma, Sheriff Dupont, Cleo, wife Ida, Charles Jr. and daughter Ida in front. Gift Mrs. Helena A. Hudgen. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.