Today in Keys History – December 12
1893 – Trinity Wesleyan Methodist Church was founded by Reverend George Lester at 717 Simonton Street in Key West. The church was later converted to Trinity Presbyterian.
1904 – The Navy’s wireless telegraph was being built on the Naval Station by the de Forest Company.
1908 – Henry Flagler wrote that he planned to make a tour of the Overseas Railroad extension project and would probably travel as far as Key West. Flagler had not been to the island city in over a year.
1940 – The Fleet Sonar School was established at the Naval Station. This school would play an important part in training sonar operators to man the ships that defeated the German U-boats in World War II. After the war the school would train thousands of U.S. and allied navies’ students until the early 1970’s. The school would also be visited by the senior U.S. and foreign military officers.
1969 – In a ceremony at the Naval Air Station Key West, Lt. Colonel Eugene Flanagan relieved Lt. Colonel William Badaker as Commanding Officer of the Army’s 6th Battalion (HAWK), 65th Artillery.
2014 – Key West National Wildlife Refuge management informed high performance powerboat operators that Boca Grande was off-limits for their annual “Fun Run to Boca Grande,” after more than 150 boats gathered at the small island 20 miles west of Key West a month earlier.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Trinity Presbyterian Church at 717 Simonton Street, ca. 1970. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.