Today in Keys History – November 12, 2024
1898 – Battery B, 1st U.S. Army Artillery, with 2 officers and 121 men, arrived at the Key West Barracks from Hilton Head, SC.
1907 – A dispute between Monroe County School Superintendent J.V. Harris and saloon owner F. Rippi remained unresolved, and Russell Hall school remained closed due to the proximity of Rippi’s bar. Harris asked the Key West City Council to require barrooms be at least 200 yards from schools and churches.
1964 – The Lower Keys Chamber of Commerce voted unanimously to support construction of a road from the west coast of mainland Florida to Big Pine Key. The group planned to enact a “sales program” to encourage support for the idea in other parts of the county, especially the Upper Keys where many business owners opposed the plan.
1985 – Prince Rainier, Prince Albert and Princess Caroline of Monaco were in Key West to see Caroline’s husband Stefano Casiraghi compete in the world championship boat races.
1996 – The Board of Monroe County Commissioners elected Keith Douglass mayor.
1996 – Key West native and aviation pioneer Steven F. Whalton died on his 96th birthday. He was the third employee of Pan American World Airways.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A chart with proposed bridges and highway from Big Pine Key to Cape Sable and from North Key Largo to Miami. Monroe County Library Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.