1845 – The American schooner Gleaner arrived at Key West with 300 barrels of flour but left a short while later, followed by a Spanish...

1888 – A “Cuban bob white,” or quail, was seen at Key West, the first known occurrence of the bird on the island. 1929 – Florida Motor...

1898 – A correspondent wrote of Key West’s booming cigar business, “Our city is once more at the top of the ladder, and it behooves our...

1861 – Lt. T.A.M. Craven of the U.S. steamer Crusader issued a notice of blockade at Key West. It stipulated that no vessels would be...

1893 – A man named Andre Peniche was forced to leave Key West after suspicion grew that he was a Spanish spy. Cuban residents of the...

1862 – A “distillery machine” brought from New York was employed at Fort Taylor to convert seawater to freshwater, and it was providing...

1898 – War prices ruled in Key West. A tall glass of soda cost 15 cents, lemonade 20 cents, and beer 25 cents. Drinking water, too, was...

1896 – The schooner Competitor of Key West was seized by the Spanish gunboat Mensagera near Havana, loaded with Mauser and Remington...

1898 – The Army took over the Cuban telegraph cable from Western Union. Telegraph Superintendent M.L. Hellings was commissioned as...

1922 – Navy aircraft located the missing Aeromarine seaplane Santa Maria near Andros Island, Bahamas, in good condition with all...

1886 – A fundraising effort in Cuba to aid those displaced by the great Key West fire totaled $3,550. There were 652 refugees from Key...

1898 – The Navy was ordered to blockade the coast of Cuba. The USS Nashville about 12 miles south of Sand Key took the Spanish steamer...

1847 – The British ship Yucatan ran ashore on French Reef and bilged while carrying 1,200 bales of cotton, 800 barrels of flour, 300 of...

1865 – Word reached Key West that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered to General U.S. Grant on April 9, virtually ending the Civil...

1848 – At a meeting of the Key West Whigs, all were in support of Zachary Taylor. They also voted to approve Representative Edward C....

1829 – It was proposed to establish a Temperance Society at Key West. 1950 – Rough seas from a cold front forced all 250 boats of the...

1865 – To celebrate of the recent fall of the Confederate capital of Richmond, the ships of the Eastern Gulf Blockading Squadron at Key...

1892 – The Key West Library Association was organized with Judge James W. Locke as president, Mary A. Taylor, secretary, J. Fogarty,...

1825 – The U.S. schooner Shark sailed from Key West to Havana with a group of pirates captured by the USS Sea Gull . The outlaws were...

1833 – Cholera was rampant at Key West, and people were fleeing the island. A correspondent wrote, “all the garrison except one officer...