1976 – Monroe County commissioners voted to demolish the long-abandoned and “haunted” Clark mansion in Marathon. The once-palatial waterfront home had been vacant since the owner was found floating dead in an adjacent lagoon over 20 years earlier. In more recent times the structure had been occupied by transient squatters.

1951 – Popular entertainment personality Arthur Godfrey broadcast his daily, nationwide CBS Radio show from Pigeon Key.

1992 – After a six-year renovation, Key West’s San Carlos Institute was reopened. Institute President Rafael Peñalver, who spearheaded the overhaul, introduced U.S. Senator Bob Graham as keynote speaker.

1949 – The Key West City Commission granted a lease to the Key West Charter Boatmen’s Association for a portion of Garrison Bight facing North Roosevelt Boulevard.

1926 – Detroit golf professional Harry Hampton and his assistant Ed Valentine arrived at Key West, where Hampton would serve as the course inspector for the season. The men were planning to host a series of golf tournaments on the island over the coming months.

1956 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower, accompanied by his wife and mother-in-law, enjoyed a two-hour drive up the Keys along U.S.1. The group departed from Key West’s Little White House for the journey.

1935 – A set of four murals painted by Works Progress Administration artist Richard Jansen were displayed for the first time at the Key West Country Club New Year’s Eve ball. The murals, considered to be his best Key West works, depicted aspects of semi-tropical life.

1925 – A train with six water cars derailed overnight at Spanish Harbor near Big Pine Key. A wrecking train was dispatched immediately to clear the tracks, and traffic was restored by dawn.

1938 – Toll receipts showed that 1,821 automobiles, carrying 3,632 passengers, had traveled the Florida Keys Overseas Highway over the Christmas weekend.

1940 – The Cuban-American fraternal order Orden de Caballeros de Martí began a three-day state convention at the Key West chapter’s lodge at 919 Elizabeth Street.

1935 – Despite the air temperature being a chilly 52 degrees, visitors from the north enjoyed swimming in the waters off Key West’s Rest Beach.

1975 – Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies, Navy personnel, and volunteers were working to remove 6,000 pounds of baled marijuana that washed ashore along Boca Chica and other keys. One bag was labeled “Bogota,” but there was no evidence of a boat that dumped the $2.5 million haul.

1955 – The home of Angel Delgado at 1010 Washington Street was chosen as having the best display in the Key West Junior Chamber of Commerce’s Christmas lighting contest. The home of Everett Hall at 3 Hibiscus Lane placed second.

1930 - The Key West Woman’s Club, the Salvation Army, and the U.S. Army distributed 291 Christmas dinners to the poor of the city.

Enjoy free concerts at the Key LargoLibrary branch in the Upper Keys

Enjoy free concerts at the Islamorada Library branch in the Upper Keys

1891 – José Martí, the leading Cuban independence advocate, arrived at Key West from Tampa for his first visit to the island. He rallied Key West’s Cuban exile community to support the overthrow of Spanish rule over their island nation.

The Monroe County Public Library has lots of ways to help you reach your New Year's Resolutions - at no cost.

1955 – Florida Greyhound buses resumed service after a drivers’ strike. Airlines, and even cab drivers, had been able to get some travelers from Key West to Miami, but there was particular concern in the Keys that Navy personnel would not have been able to travel for the holidays.

1935 – The Cortez Cigar Co. building on Ann Street in Key West was destroyed by fire. The first alarm sounded at 10 a.m. and all the city’s firefighters arrived to battle the blaze, but the flames spread too quickly to be contained. Chief Harry Baker thought the fire was set intentionally.