Today in Keys History – June 3, 2023
1851 – Captain Hansen of the brig Sprightly was killed when an iron plate he was unloading for the construction of the Sand Key Lighthouse slipped and struck him in the head.
1887 – Thirteen people were diagnosed with yellow fever at Key West, and four of them died.
1895 – Telegrams arrived at Key West with word that Cuban independence leader José Martí had not been killed by Spanish troops. On receipt of such good news, the island’s Cuban community celebrated, houses were decorated, and a parade headed by a brass band went through the streets of the town. The reports were incorrect, though, as Martí had died on May 19 from wounds sustained in battle.
1904 – The Key West Ministerial Association, because of lax views on the island regarding marriage, passed the following resolution: “No person is to be married who is known to have a divorced husband or wife still living, unless that person be the innocent party in a case of a decree granted for the cause of adultery.”
1922 – Captain Hersell Thompson reported finding the carcass of a large whale, 60 to 75 feet long, on Blue Fish Banks, 12 miles from Marathon.
1924 – Fewer passengers were arriving at the Keys by train, an indicator that the tourist season was ending. Many of the travelers were residents of Cuba who only arrived to connect with a ship to Havana as they headed home from U.S. business trips.
1926 – Dr. William Longley and Charles Martin took the first underwater color photographs at the Dry Tortugas. The groundbreaking images were published in the January 1927 issue of National Geographic Magazine.
1934 – Ernest Hemingway, accompanied by brother Leicester, Charles Thompson, and Al Dudek caught four sailfish off Key West from his cabin cruiser Pilar. Three of the fish were whole, but one was partly eaten by a shark before it was landed.
1951 – The new Scottish Rite Temple at the corner of Simonton and Eaton streets was dedicated by Clyde Johnson, Deputy of the Supreme Council of Florida.
1969 – Juan Sigler, owner of the International Barber Shop in Key West, announced he was closing his business after 32 years of operation. “Long haired hippies and the Beatles have killed my business,” he said. “It’s the long hair…There’s no hair to cut. There’s no business.”
2009 – Property values across Monroe County were down from 9% to 24% under the previous year, adding up to a devaluation of $3 billion.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, and Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A barbershop circa 1964. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.