1960 – A two-day “autorama,” presented by Bevis Lewis Chevrolet, Estenoz Motors, K.T. Motors, Duncan Auto Sales, and Navarro, Inc., began at the Food Fair Shopping Center in Key West. The gala event gave the public a first look at the new 1961 automobile models.

1985 – The State of Florida purchased the old rock quarry on Windley Key for $2.3 million under its Conservation and Recreational Lands program. The keystone quarry features spectacular fossilized reef structures in its 18-foot vertical walls that tell the geological history of the Upper Florida Keys.

1925 – Thomas Pinder was appointed caretaker of the Monroe County Courthouse grounds at Jackson Square in Key West. Pinder was to tend to the hundreds of recently planted shrubs and trees and stop attacks on them by boys who frequented the grounds.

1985 – The Monroe County Commission named the public library branch at Islamorada in honor of the branch’s librarian, Helen Wadley.

1985 – The City of Key West listed privately owned areas of the Key West salt ponds as desirable for purchase by the State of Florida under its Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) program. Many residents considered the ponds to be the last remaining natural expanse on the island.

1951 – The City Planning Board approved a zoning change for Dairy Queen to build an ice cream store on United Street near White Street.

Code of Conduct from the Monroe County Public Library Policy Manual, approved July 16, 2025.

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1935 – The landing barge for the Miami-Key West Airways seaplanes was moved from the railroad terminus to the yacht basin (the former Naval Station submarine basin), which was better located and better protected. It was hoped the change would foster daily round-trip flights between the two cities.

2005 – The Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center at Florida Keys Community College was forced to close after being damaged by multiple tropical weather systems over the summer. A 500-seat, air-conditioned tent was to be erected in the parking lot to serve as an interim venue until repairs could be made.

1938 – Key Wester Charles F. Dupont died at age 77. In 1888, he became the first elected African American Sheriff in Florida when he was selected by Monroe County voters. He served as Monroe County Sheriff for five years. Key West’s DuPont Lane is named in his honor.

1960 – Dredge and fill operations at Sigsbee Park (aka Dredgers Key) were completed, and the construction of 300 new housing units there would begin shortly.

1955 – A “price war” erupted amongst Key West motel owners after Max Cohen, who owned three motels, began advertising $2 rooms. In response, the owners of eight other businesses posted signs advertising free rooms to stop Cohen from continuing his drastic price cuts.

1906 – John Lowe Jr. had a wholesale and retail lumber business, grocery store, ship chandlery and marine railway at the corner of Elizabeth and Greene streets.

On the first Friday of each month October-April, the Key Largo Library branch will present a live performance, free and open to the public.

1925 – Four stowaways were found hidden in the oil tank of the P.& O. railroad car ferry Jos. R. Parrott when it landed at Key West from Havana. The men, who claimed to have been born in Portugal, were expected to be sent back to Cuba.

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1957 – Key Colony Beach became the second city in Monroe County when the community’s 11 qualified voters approved incorporation at a town hall meeting.

1930 – Secretary of the Navy Charles F. Adams ordered the Naval Station at Key West to be placed in inoperative status no later than November 30. The closure was intended to save money as part of a broader “economy campaign” instituted by President Hoover.

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