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.

2015 – After a year of construction, the new Vietnam Living Memorial in Key West’s Bayview Park was unveiled. Hundreds attended the event, many of them veterans, along with their families and supporters.

1975 – According to a count by Hank Kokenzie, Director of Veterans Affairs for Monroe County, there were approximately 12,000 U.S. military veterans residing in the Keys.

1940 – The Navy was building 50 housing units for low-income personnel at the Trumbo Air Base – 17 two-family and 16 single-family buildings. 

1975 – A new city arena for horse shows and other equestrian events opened at Peary Court with a two-day championship rodeo sponsored by the Key West Fire Department. The arena was dedicated to Gilbert Gates, Jr. and Larry Brennan, two Key West boys electrocuted in a tragic boating accident.

1955 – New Jersey industrialist Stanly Switlik presented the Monroe County School Board with 30 acres of land along Marathon Beach Road for the site of a new Marathon High School. Much of the ground was wetlands that would require filling before construction of the school could begin.

1966 – The Islamorada Branch of the Monroe County Public Library was officially opened.

1940 – Key West Judge Arthur Gomez granted Pauline Hemingway a divorce from her author husband Ernest, who did not contest the matter. Pauline was granted custody of their sons Patrick and Gregory and possession of the family home at 907 Whitehead Street.

1955 – Admiral the Earl Mountbatten of Burma, K.G., the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff for Great Britain, accompanied by U.S. Navy Chief of Staff Admiral Arleigh Burke, arrived in Key West for a demonstration cruise aboard the Navy’s cutting-edge submarine USS Albacore. 

1935 – Wm R. Kenan, president of the Florida East Coast Railway, arrived in Key West to inspect the company’s railroad and hotel holdings on the island. He said there would be no determination about restoring the rail line until inspectors completed an assessment of damage caused by the Labor Day Hurricane.

1935 – While restoring the Key West Art Center located in the Caroline Lowe house at 303 Duval Street, carpenters discovered a hollowed-out rail on the widow’s walk. During the Civil War, Lowe often flew a Confederate flag from the walk, but whenever Union forces tried to seize the banner, they could never find it. It was thought this hollow was the hiding place.

1935 – The ferry Florida Keys left No Name Key at 8 a.m., and two hours later the ferry Key West departed Lower Matecumbe Key, both resuming regular service for the Overseas Highway for the first time since the destruction of the Labor Day Hurricane.

1960 – After five years of service, the Key West-Havana ferry made its final crossing from Cuba. The official reason for the suspension of service was a lack of patrons, but it also came as tensions were increasing between the U.S. and Fidel Castro’s new government.  

1960 – A team of “petroleum technicians, tool pushers, drillers, and roughnecks” from the California Company arrived in Key West to begin drilling four 6,000-foot test wells near the Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoals.

2004 – The State of Florida agreed to buy the Harris School on Southard Street in Key West under its “Florida Forever” program. The plan was to lease the historic property to the Rodel Foundation and The Studios of Key West as an art colony, with Rodel agreeing to restore the building. The Monroe County School District had not decided whether to accept the offer.

1975 – Treasure hunter Mel Fisher announced he had purchased Brito’s Boat Yard at 629 Front Street in Key West. He planned to recreate a “pirate village” from 300 years ago on the property, with his replica galleon alongside. There would also be an artifact preservation facility, gold and silversmith shops, and a cocktail lounge.

1935 – W.P. Craig announced he was building a wooden dock at the settlement of Craig, located on the railroad right-of-way between Lower Matecumbe Key and Long Key. The bayside structure was to extend out 73 feet and end in a 209-foot-long T-head.

1999 – Key West Police planned to crack down on nudity during the weekend’s Fantasy Fest celebrations, noting that “even opaque body paint is not a substitute for clothing.” They planned to use a “firm tolerance” technique and ask nude revelers to cover up before arresting them.

2015 – Keys Energy offered the City of Key West its abandoned diesel generator plant, a three-building complex bounded by Angela, Fort, and Geraldine streets. City officials were pleased by the offer, but acceptance of the 100+-year-old “as is” property would ultimately be decided by voters.

1925 – The Norwegian steamship Capto arrived in Key West via the Panama Canal to discharge a cargo of 5 million feet of lumber from British Columbia. It was one of the largest lumber shipments in island history.