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

1900 – Jacob McCleary, who worked on the Big Pine Key farm of Whitmore Pinder, shot and killed James Straun. For some time, Straun had...

1863 – U.S. Navy landsman George Sisinger died of chronic dysentery at the Navy hospital in Key West. 1924 – The group formed to...

1842 – The U.S. mail packet boat Hayne advertised passage from Charleston, South Carolina, to Indian Key for $20, Key West for $25, and...

1864 – The U.S. District Court at Key West commenced its sessions. One case noted, “Extensive frauds have been discovered which...

1922 – Key West fish houses were expecting a strong season, as orders had already been placed to keep them busy through March. Crews...

1828 – The first term of the Superior Court Southern Judicial District of the Territory of Florida was held in Key West. 1855 – The Key...

1860 – William C. Greene died at the Dry Tortugas. He served as mayor of Key West from 1839 to 1840. 1899 – There were two new cases of...

1770 – The HMS Carysford wrecked on the Florida Reef off Key Largo and gave its name to the reef that was later changed to Carysfort....

1862 – The “Union ladies” of Key West presented the Army chaplain with a U.S. flag to raise over the regimental church. As it was...

1857 – Key West was struck in multiple places during an intense lightning storm. The hospital at Fort Taylor was hit, and the north end...

1859 – For the second time in a week, the Aurora Borealis was visible at Key West “as bright and vivid as in the northern states.” 1899 ...

1857 – Captain Alderslade arrived at Key West from Tampa on the schooner Eliza Catherine with 30 head of cattle for the island’s meat...

1887 – William Cooper was publicly hanged on the grounds of the Key West jail for the murders of Liverpool Bain and George Hudson and...

1844 – The ship Louis XIV , sailing from New Orleans to France, struck the reef near Indian Key with a cargo of cotton, coffee, lead,...

Northwest Channel lighthouse, circa 1970 1774 – It was reported that English surveyor George Gauld had set out from Pensacola in May to...

Florida Gov. Leroy Collins arrives at the airport in Key West. 1878 – Fowey Rocks Lighthouse was first lighted. 1897 – The schooner...

The dredge at work in Key West Harbor in 1966. 1888 – A carrier pigeon message service was established by the signal office at Key...

Key West Mayor Kermit Lewin cuts the ribbon at the premiere of the film “Escape from Hell Island.” 1890 – George Hudson was named Key...

A Monroe County Jail cell in Key West, circa 1970. 1730 – The Birch Galley , sailing from Jamaica to Bristol, was boarded by the crew...