1825 – Sickness raged across Key West, and the most affected were people employed in clearing the island of trees and bushes. Some...

1891 – Dr. Lemuel W. Livingston, principal of Key West’s Douglass School, accompanied by six staff members, left for Jacksonville to...

1865 – The bark Adventure arrived in Key West in distress. Four crewmen were sick with yellow fever and sent to the Marine Hospital for...

1864 – A military order arrived for Key West and the Dry Tortugas: All prisoners held for desertion were dismissed from public service....

1888 – An unknown culprit poisoned the drinking water barrel used by the family of Gideon Sawyer of Key West. The entire family was...

1898 – A large English steamship ran aground at Coffins Patch 10 miles from Sombrero Key Lighthouse with a cargo of cotton. The crew was...

1909 – In hope of finding a source of fresh water, S.O. Johnson contracted to have a well dug to 1,000 feet. No fresh water was found....

1902 – Movie star Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry, popularly known as “Stepin Fetchit,” was born in Key West. 1924 – Great...

1865 – Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Salmon P. Chase visited Key West, accompanied by his wife and daughter. A military salute...

1905 – Sheriff Frank Knight took Simon Reyes to the State Prison. Reyes had been found guilty of the murder of his girlfriend and was...

1848 – During a voyage from Key West to Boston, the crew of the bark Zangari discovered a stowaway slave onboard. A passing...

1861 – Key West Mayor John P. Baldwin was removed from office when Florida officials were removed because of secession. 1893 – It was...

1826 – A brig sailing from Havana to Boston wrecked near the Carysfort lightship and went to pieces. Part of its cargo of coffee and...

1833 – Dr. B.B. Strobel and D.C. Pinkham fought a duel in which Pinkham was shot in the chest and died. Strobel left for his former home...

1924 – The price of Key Largo land was on the rise, with oceanfront lots sometimes exceeding $200 an acre. Many landowners, though, were...

1876 – The Lighthouse on Fort Jefferson was lighted. 1918 – Student aviator Thomas W. Eden was killed, and another student pilot, J.J....

1823 – Commodore David Porter arrived and established the Naval Station Key West. 1848 – The wrecking schooner Levina arrived at Key...

1832 – It was reported that Cuban fishermen at Key West had caught a thief and hung him from their mast without judge or jury....

1898 – Five sailors’ bodies recovered from the Battleship Maine, sunk in Havana Harbor, were buried in the Maine Plot in the Key West...

1871 – The Santo Domingo Commission, including renowned African American statesman Frederick Douglass, arrived at Key West from Kingston...