1836 – Feilding A. Browne was elected mayor of Key West. 1886 – Still reeling from the devastating March 30 fire, the Relief Committee...

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

1856 – The sounds of artillery fired at Havana were heard throughout Key West. A witness elaborated on the phenomenon, “It is not the...

1829 – Col. George M. Brooke of the U.S. Army, accompanied by a Dr. Macomb, arrived at Key West to examine the island and select a site...

1855 – The steamer St. Lawrence arrived at Key West from New York, and rumors began to spread that it carried supplies for Cuba’s...

1862 – U.S. troops at Key West were flouting postal protocol by smuggling their letters via Spanish “fruit sloops” to Havana, from where...

1890 – Key Wester Charles Moffat, who had established a store near Miami for the purpose of trading with the Everglades Indians, came to...

1869 – Two ironclad monitor-class ships of the Peruvian Navy, along with three support vessels, arrived at Key West. The ships had been...

1854 – The brig Governor Brown , sailing from St. Marks to New York with a cargo of cotton, put into Key West and was detained there...

1869 – One hundred and thirty-seven Cuban refugees fleeing Spanish oppression arrived at Key West, with more expected. “The city is...

1852 – Wreckers engaged in salvaging the ship Telamon , wrecked on Delta Shoal, contracted with Daniel Davis to refloat the vessel by...

1828 – The brig George , sailing from Maine to New Orleans, after having run aground at the Dry Tortugas, was helped off by three...

1884 – William M. Artrell of Key West, and the first principal of the island’s Douglass School, was elected Grand Worthy Chief Templar...

1829 – The New York Enquirer reported that over 10,000 bushels of salt had been produced at the Key West salt ponds over the previous...

1823 – The first and second mates and two crew of the brig Antelope of Providence, RI, deserted at the Florida Reef. They took the...

1833 – A correspondent from Key West wrote, “Disease has attacked us here very severely. Six U.S. soldiers have died lately. One will be...

1835 – An intense, 10-minute squall struck Key West from the northwest, “with greater force than had been felt here for many years.” A...

1824 – An unlit beacon, 49 feet high, was erected on “Porpoise Island” (Sand Key) to warn mariners of the reef. 1892 – The Electric...

1826 – The first Key West lighthouse, located at the southwestern end of the island, was lit for the first time. Keeper Michael Mabrity,...

1864 – Key West’s freedmen marked the first anniversary of emancipation with a celebration at the Baptist Church. U.S. District Judge...