1931 – Two new local baseball leagues were organized at Key West. One, a group of six teams, would start immediately at the Harris School field. The other league planned to play at night at Bayview Park, and, pending the installation of lights, would begin their season on October 1.

2001 – In the wake of the 9/11 attacks, a bomb threat against the federal building on Simonton Street in Key West was received by telephone. The area was cordoned off by police, and after three hours of searching the building, Navy explosive specialists determined the threat was false.

2001 – It was announced that Walgreen’s had purchased the Ripley’s Believe It or Not “Odditorium” building at 527 Duval Street in Key West. The former Strand Theater would be refashioned into a variety store and pharmacy, while Ripley’s planned to stay on the island and relocate elsewhere on Duval.

1935 – A tally of casualties from the Upper Keys hurricane showed 285 veterans employed as bridge workers were dead or missing, and 101 were injured and hospitalized. Of civilian residents, 125 were dead, and 151 were hospitalized.

1946 – In a special meeting, Key West city commissioners authorized the purchase of the Sweeny beachfront property at the south end of Duval Street for $37,000. The property was to be used as a bathing beach and to provide recreational facilities for the city.

1986 – The Truman Annex ex-Navy base in Key West sold at government auction for $17.25 million to Massachusetts resident Pritam Singh. The 103 acres on Key West and Tank Island were initially offered to the City of Key West, but 12 years of negotiations failed to produce a satisfactory deal.

1986 – The Key West Citizen announced it was building new headquarters on Northside Drive, which would allow the newspaper to modernize and “leap forward into the computer age.” The Citizen planned to make the move from its longtime 515 Greene Street address in approximately one year.

1956 – The Tradewinds Restaurant in the pre-Civil War era Caroline Lowe House at the corner of Duval and Caroline streets in Key West was gutted by fire and had to be torn down. The blaze was set by an arsonist who destroyed several significant Key West buildings before he was caught.

1946 – Marathon was growing rapidly: Tourist accommodations were fully booked for the upcoming season, and “draglines, graders, rollers, bulldozers, and trucks were busy clearing ground for further development.”

1946 – Key West City Manager J.S. Ellingsen announced the city was taking immediate steps to provide housing for customs and immigration officials at the East Martello military reservation, so the 17.1-acre tract could become part of a planned municipal airport and port of entry.

1936 – The U.S. Coast Guard cable ship Pequot completed the laying of 23,000 feet of communication cable from Alligator Reef Lighthouse to Lower Matecumbe Key. An earlier cable had been destroyed in the hurricane of September 1935, and the lighthouse had been cut off since then.

1986 – Spurred by overwhelming neighborhood opposition to the plan, the Key West City Commission denied a request for the conversion of the former St. Stephen Church building at 330 Julia Street into a restaurant.

1935 – The most intense hurricane to make landfall in the United States struck the Upper Keys. The category five storm had a barometer reading of 26.35, winds estimated at around 200 mph, and tides 18 to 20 feet above normal. The storm killed nearly 400 people, including many WW I veterans working on new highway bridges, and the destruction put the financially troubled Overseas Railroad out of business.

2001 – In an agreement with the city, house boats began leaving “Houseboat Row” along Key West’s southeastern seawall to go to Garrison Bight. Twenty-six vessels were expected to make the move, and Key West Assistant City Manager John Jones hoped to transfer one a day during September.

2014 – The Schooner Western Union Preservation Society launched a fundraising campaign to restore the schooner Western Union, the last of the large sailing vessels to be built in Key West. The cost of the needed overhaul was estimated to be over $1 million.

2001 – The Welters family compound on Rockland Key was destroyed in an overnight blaze. The set of colorful buildings with a small farm had been home to 98-year-old Lewis Welters and members of his extended family for over 50 years.

1956 – The Key West High School on Flagler Avenue was opened. Grades eight through twelve went into the new facility, and all sixth and seventh graders were transferred to the old high school on White Street, which was renamed Memorial Junior High.

1864 – A soldier stationed at Fort Jefferson wrote of the burial of his comrade Henry Wilson: “His body was put on a skiff at the wharf then a salute of eight guns at once, three times. I then by request was permitted to attend the body with those who went to inter it. It is on an island about 2 miles north of this fort & is called Sand Key.”

1956 – Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies and the Florida Highway Patrol were cracking down on speeders along the Overseas Highway. Of particular concern was an increase in accidents by vehicles that came upon Mosquito Control spray trucks too quickly, and drivers who fell asleep at the wheel.

1936 – To generate funds for maintenance, the Key West Aquarium began charging an admission fee. The price of entry was 15 cents for adults and five cents for children.