Today in Keys History – March 22, 2024
1898 – Lieutenant Commander Adolph Marix, carrying the final report of the USS Maine Court of Inquiry, sailed on the steamer City of Key West for Washington via Miami.
1902 – Mark Twain and Thomas B. Reed were in the city on their way to Cuba.
1924 – Plans were drawn, and construction was soon to commence on the first hotel in Key Largo. As it was, tourists who visited the island arrived by train in the morning but were obliged to leave the same way in the evening, though they might have liked to stay. The new hotel was to be built near the Key Largo train station.
1926 – Dr. John Roach Stratton of Calvary Baptist Church in New York gave an address at the Key West First Baptist Church titled “The Dance of Death.” Stratton put forth the questions, “Are modern dances a sign of degeneracy in the human race?” and “Are they a serious menace, physically, mentally, and morally to the rising generation?”
1974 – Five people were killed and 11 injured, some critically, near the Jewfish Creek bridge north of Key Largo when a sports car carrying three men collided with a van carrying 13 construction workers. It was the worst automobile accident in Monroe County since 1956.
2000 – The Chicken Store opened at 1229 Duval Street. Owner Katha Sheehan described it as “poultry museum, petting zoo, roadside attraction, chicken-rescue league, and gift shop.”
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: 1227 and 1229 Duval Street in 1973. From the archives of Edwin O. Swift III. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.