1998 – The USCGC Keeper-class cutter Joshua Appleby (WLM 556) was launched. It was named for the keeper of the Sand Key Lighthouse who was killed by the hurricane of October 11, 1846.

1909 – The Key West Elks hosted a turtle supper at their Duval Street clubhouse. Guests were C.L. Meyer, manager of the P. & O. Steamship Company, and a Mr. Ullman from the community of Planter on Key Largo.

1926 – Boy Scout Troop No.1 of Key West was encamped at Pigeon Key. “There is some of the best fishing and swimming in the world to be had two hundred feet from camp. The boys say that this is the best time they have ever had,” wrote scoutmaster Charles Sands.

1952 – Charles Cremata, a member of the Key West Fire Department for 15 years, was named fire chief. He replaced Leroy Torres, who had died two weeks before.

1995 – Fire destroyed the Copa nightclub and adjoining buildings in the 600 block of Duval Street. It was the worst fire in Key West in 72 years.

1995 – Fire destroyed the Copa nightclub and adjoining buildings in the 600 block of Duval Street. It was the worst fire in Key West in 72 years.

1845 – The Marine Hospital opened in Key West for the treatment of merchant marine sailors. It could accommodate approximately 50 patients.

1966 – A glut of frozen stock left over from the previous season’s catch drove down the price of Florida Keys spiny lobster to 37 cents per pound on the opening day of the new season. Many crawfishermen threatened to hold off fishing until prices rose.

1956 – Plans for an 18-hole course at the Key West Golf Club were submitted by Gulf Securities of Louisiana, Inc. Local leaders hoped the 6,600-yard, par 71 layout would attract top PGA and amateur events and bring additional tourism dollars to the Keys.

1953 – Charles Aronovitz retired from the Key West business his father started in 1889 and which he had taken over in 1939. The Aronovitz name would remain on the island, though, as his son Sidney opened another retail store at 622 Duval Street.

In the dog days of summer, we're celebrating the role our canine companions play in our lives.

1926 – The Monroe County Board of Public Instruction opened the bidding process for the construction of a kindergarten building at the corner of South and Reynolds streets and a high school annex at White and Seminary streets. Both projects had been long needed in Key West.

1993 – Tank Island in Key West Harbor went on the auction block with an opening bid of $25 million.

1956 – Construction of Key West’s new International Airport was expected to cost $1.1 million by the time of its scheduled opening in March 1957. The facility was badly needed as the number of passengers was growing considerably, from 39,000 in 1947 to an estimated 170,000 in 1956.

1951 – The Key West Police Department announced the start of a drive to rid bars of underage customers. The task was made difficult because over 2,000 Navy men in the area were under 21, but police said the crackdown would affect all minors, whether they were in uniform or not.

1986 – Monroe County Commissioners voted to open the county’s three landfill sites once a month with no disposal fees. The move was prompted by the increased dumping of garbage and junk in empty lots throughout the Keys.

1865 – Dr. Samuel Mudd, Edward Spangler, Michael O'Laughlen, and Samuel Arnold – all convicted as conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln – arrived at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas to serve their prison terms. They joined 552 other prisoners being held there.

1936 – Prompted by the hurricane that struck the Upper Keys the previous September, a representative for the Works Progress Administration was in Key West to survey school buildings, City Hall, and the County Courthouse in preparation for making them more storm resistant.

As the Florida Keys History Center celebrates 20 years of sharing historic photos of the Keys online, staff share some of their favorites.

1926 – The new issue of the Lighthouse Service Bulletin explained how drinking water was obtained for the light stations along the Florida Reef: Rainwater that fell on the painted lighthouse structures was caught and carried by gutters and pipes to 8,000-gallon storage tanks, a method that had been practiced for nearly 75 years.