Today in Keys History – Sept. 25, 2022
1894 – A hurricane that had traveled the length of Cuba passed over Key West, where winds were clocked at 104 mph with slight damage.
1933 -The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers launch Biscayne was conducting a survey of the Key West main ship’s channel.
1934 – Henry Ogden, fishing from Porter Dock at the north end of Duval Street, caught a goliath grouper that measured 7 feet and 2 inches long and weighed 485 pounds.
1934 – Three officials of the Cuban government inspected the San Carlos Theater and school to determine the repairs necessary to bring the building up to standards.
1955 – Gardner Cowles, president of Look Magazine, and his associate David Salzman bought an 182 1/2- acre tract on Cudjoe Key for $83,000.
1998 – Hurricane Georges, a Category 3 hurricane, swept across Key West and the Lower Keys causing moderate damage mostly to trees in Key West. It spelled the end for Houseboat Row, a community of houseboats that had moored along South Roosevelt Boulevard for decades.
1999 – The U.S. Coast Guard buoy tender Barbara Mabrity was in Key West for the weekend. The ship was named in honor of the woman who was keeper of the Key West Lighthouse for 38 years.
Information compiled by Tom Hambright, Historian Emeritus, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library
Image: Wreckage from Houseboat Row along South Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West after Hurricane Georges. Dale McDonald collection, Florida Keys History Center, Monroe County Public Library https://www.flickr.com/photos/keyslibraries/2634055107/