Today in Keys History – June 1, 2023
1861 – The Army issued General Order #49 that directed that no soldier, sailor or marine was allowed to visit Key West between tattoo and reveille.
1898 – The hospital ship Solace sailed for New York with 86 sick and wounded sailors and marines from the Army Hospital at the Convent.
1912 – Capt. Charles Thompson on the fishing schooner Somoa, while fishing near the Seven Mile Bridge, harpooned a whale shark and after a struggle of eight hours forced the shark on a sand bar and reported that it took five days for the shark to die. Thompson towed his catch to Miami where he was able to get it on shore. It measured 38 feet long and weighed 26,594 pounds. He had the shark mounted and exhibited it around the country until it was accidentally destroyed in a fire in 1922.
1923 – Inbound and outbound railroad traffic was delayed for several hours because a freight train had jumped the tracks and derailed in the Middle Keys.
1930 – The Granday pineapple canning plant owned by Thompson Enterprises opened with 75 employees. Using imported Cuban pineapples, the plant was able to produce 2,500 cans of fruit a day.
1933 – A new method of disposing prohibited liquor was employed at Key West. Before, booze had been poured onto the ground outside the Custom House, which puddled and created a noxious smell. In the new process, liquor was poured into the sewer via a grated drain inside the building; a fan carried away the fumes.
1934 – More than a thousand people attended a meeting of the Dade County Key West Club. The organization, made up of ex-Key Westers, maintained an interest in the politics and progress of the island. Many Keys officials traveled to the event.
1936 – The Federal Public Works Administration announced formal approval of a $3.6 million loan to the Overseas Road and Toll Bridge Authority for the construction of highway bridges from Key West to the mainland following the old Florida East Coast Railroad railbed.
1947 – Key West’s North Beach Inn suffered $60,000 in damages in an overnight fire. Witnesses said a strange man was standing in the hotel’s lobby at 2 a.m., shortly before the fire broke out.
1983 – Tennessee Williams’ younger brother, Dakin, announced he would file an objection in Monroe County Court to his brother’s will and attempt to gain control of the estate.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The North Beach Inn that stood at 711 Eisenhower Drive before it was damaged by fire in June 1947. From the Jeff Brodhead Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.