1832 – Key West experienced a severe gale that “continued with unabated fury” until the next morning. It was supposed many ships had...

1845 – Many vultures and crows were flying over a particular area of Stock Island, and on investigation the body of a man was found...

1824 – The brig Amelia arrived at Liverpool from New Orleans, minus the captain and first mate. The men had died at the Florida Keys...

1849 – To escape harassment by the Seminoles, Col. Wm. F. English arrived at Key West from his Miami River settlement, with people he...

1828 – The French brig Vigilant wrecked off Key Vaca carrying $32,000 in specie, as well as other cargo. Capt. Jacob Housman and other...

1823 – Commodore David Porter of the U.S. Navy’s anti-piracy squadron was ill at Key West with yellow fever. Though there was hope for...

1840 – Seminole warriors attacked and burned the settlement on Indian Key. The settlement had been founded by Jacob Housman and was the...

1884 – Walter C. Maloney died in Key West at age of 71. He was a lawyer and had served in the state legislature from Monroe County and...

1825 – U.S. Navy vessels were successfully patrolling Cuban waters against pirates, and a report from Key West said, “…no piracy can be...

1832 – The ship Shepherd , from Havana to Hamburg, went ashore in a gale at Conch Reef near Tavernier Key. The crew and part of the...

1867 – The steamer Narva left Key West to begin laying telegraph cable between there and Cuba. The average rate of paying out cable was...

1815 – Juan Pablo Salas, a Spanish Royal Artillery Officer station in St. Augustine, was given a land grant for the island of Cayo Hueso...

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

1823 – Commodore David Porter ordered the USS Hornet to sail from Key West, rendezvous with the U.S. schooner Fox at Havana, and from...

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

The diary of a young business clerk visiting Key West in 1843 offers never-before-seen details about life in the Lower Keys at that time.

Ruth Bryan Owen 1905 – Antonio Betancourt of the Island City Saloon was arrested for selling whisky to a group of boys, ages seven to...

1845 – A writer from Key West noted that the island was hot and dull: “… everybody is complaining of heat – seeking the retirement of...

1836 – The U.S. schooner Motto arrived at Key West from Cape Florida and reported that 40 Seminole fighters had attacked and burned the...

1842 – The court in Key West settled the salvage case of the wrecked barque Alasco . It was determined the vessel and cargo were valued...