1854 – The schooner Montauk arrived at Key West from Mobile with a cargo of lumber for the construction of Browne and Curry’s clipper...

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...

1836 – The Key West Enquirer reported that 200 refugees from mainland south Florida and the Upper Keys were at Indian Key and Key West...

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

1823 – Capt. Daniel Patterson of the U.S. Navy arrived at Key West to begin a formal survey of the island and its harbor. Patterson was...

1850 – The brig Isabella Reed , sailing from New Orleans to Savannah, ran aground on Conch Reef, but the captain refused assistance from...

1891 – William Tuttar of Key Largo was bitten by a “monster rattle-snake, with seventeen rattles and a button.” He killed the reptile,...

1848 – The new Key West Lighthouse on Whitehead Street was lighted for the first time. The lighthouse was built to replace the one...

1826 – The ship Ellen , sailing from Havana to Philadelphia, went ashore on Carysfort Reef. Wreckers saved the dismasted vessel and...

1829 – A duel was fought between Charles E. Hawkins of the Mexican Navy and William Allison McRea, U.S. Attorney for the Southern...

1848 – The Irish ship Mertoun , sailing from New Orleans to Liverpool, wrecked at Delta Shoal off Key Vaca with 1,400 bales of cotton,...

1858 – During the night, 12 enslaved Key Westers escaped from the island by stealing the Sand Key lighthouse boat. Despite a large...

1917 – Polk’s Key West City Directory for 1917/18 listed 16 coffee shops in the city. 1954 – The Monroe County Commission approved...

In 1938, work began on a cable-tending schooner - the last substantial tall ship to be built in Key West.

1850 – The ship Abalino , carrying ice from Boston to New Orleans, ran onto American Shoal. Wreckers took out 150 tons of the cargo, and...

1906 – John D. Rockefeller was staying on board a private yacht at Key West. He was spotted dining at a local hotel. 1941 – In a...

1916 – Wealthy U.S. industrialist Andrew Carnegie, accompanied by his wife and friends, was on the houseboat Everglades out of Marathon...

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