1926 – Monroe County Engineer Joseph Watkins and other officials went to Wood Key off the western Everglades in mainland Monroe to check on survivors of the recent hurricane. After a hazardous voyage, they found people at the small settlement in bad condition and in need of shelter.
1934 – Cuban government architectural engineers were visiting Key West to inspect the San Carlos theater and school to determine any repairs necessary to put it in perfect condition.
1940 – Three burial vaults at the Key West Cemetery had been broken into across the previous week, with one casket accessed and opened. Police suspected robbers were trying to steal jewelry from the dead. Closing the cemetery in the overnight hours was being contemplated.
1952 – By a vote of 2614 to 1905, Monroe County voters approved the construction of a dog track on Stock Island. Sidney Aronovitz, Secretary of the Key West Kennel Club, said the group planned to open the facility in February of 1953.
1976 – President Gerald Ford signed a military construction bill that included a provision to keep the Naval Air Station Key West open. The station had been slated for closing or major cutbacks.
1986 – In the Democratic primary Ron Saunders was, by default, elected state representative, as he did not have an opponent in the general election.
1987 – The Key West City Commission approved the annexation of Tank Island, now known as Sunset Key.
1993 – An area of 10,000 acres ranging across many of the Keys between Saddlebunch and Big Pine was designated as “critical habitat” for the silver rice rat. The rat had been declared an endangered species in 1991.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Navy fuel tanks on Tank Island (aka Sunset Key) in the 1970s. U.S. Navy photograph. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.