1954 – The Florida Keys were undergoing a building boom: The permit for a two-bedroom $5,800 CBS home at Marathon was the 800th issued by Monroe County for new construction in unincorporated areas in two years.

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1960 – Hurricane Donna passed over the Middle and Upper Keys with 150-mph winds, causing extensive damage: Over half of the structures from Marathon to Islamorada were destroyed; tides were 9 to 13.5 feet above normal; six highway bridges were severely damaged, and the water pipeline was wrecked in five places.

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1964 – At 3:30 a.m., the Beatles landed at Key West International Airport, greeted by a mob of screaming fans. The group had been scheduled to perform in Jacksonville, but a hurricane diverted them to Key West. The wildly popular musicians spent two days at the Key Wester Motel on South Roosevelt Boulevard.

1905 – Three hundred men were working on Key Largo to build the railroad bed for the Florida East Coast’s Overseas Railway, and five miles had been graded on the island to that date. Another crew was making soundings and drilling bore holes at Knights Key to determine the best foundation to cross it.

1925 – A celebration was held for the opening of the Boca Chica bridge, the first step in the new Overseas Highway being built through the Florida Keys. A “mammoth motorcade” left Key West, crossed Stock Island and then traversed the new bridge to Rocky Point on Boca Chica Key for the celebration.

2010 – Buyers from China, Taiwan, and other overseas markets were paying between $5 and $7 per pound for spiny lobster, making Florida Keys crawfishermen very happy. These prices were double what they had been the previous year.

1945 – The Key West Drug Company, at the corner of Simonton and Fleming streets, featured a window display of trophies collected in the South Pacific by Key Wester Leo Braxton Warren, Chief Pharmacist Mate, USN, during his wartime service.

1925 – A freight train derailed at Marathon. A wrecking crew from Key West was dispatched immediately after receiving the news, but clearing the tracks delayed the arrival of the passenger train from morning to afternoon.

1940 – Wallace Kirke, director of the Key West Housing Authority, issued a call for bids on the construction of the J.Y. Porter Place and Fort Village housing projects. Porter Place was to be on Trumbo Island with 136 units. Fort Village, at Virginia and Fort streets, was to have 84 units for “colored” families of Key West.

1935 – The most intense hurricane to hit the United States passed over Long Key and Lower Matecumbe Key. The category five storm had a barometer reading of 26.35, winds estimated at around 200 mph, and tides 18 to 20 feet above normal. The storm killed over 400 people, many of them WWI veterans employed in building new highway bridges, and put the already financially troubled Overseas Railroad out of business.

1976 – President Gerald Ford signed the authorization to transfer ownership of Key West’s Fort Taylor to the State of Florida.

1919 – A general strike was called by 3,000 Key West cigarmakers and tobacco workers. The laborers were demanding wage increases comparable to those paid in Tampa.

1994 – More than 17,000 Cuban refugees had crossed the Florida Straits during the month. It was the largest Cuban exodus since the 1980 Mariel boatlift.

1951 – Developer Joe Sirugo agreed to sell 3,500 cubic yards of marl to the City of Key West. It would help satisfy the city’s need of 10,000 yards of marl to fill United Street between Leon and George streets and to fill George Street along the site of the new city housing project.

1963 – Rear Admiral L.J. Kirn, Commander of Naval Station Key West, reported the Keys’ Navy population numbered 21,000, including military and dependents. In addition, the military employed 1,860 civilian workers.

1945 – Blas Zarate of the White Inn on Division Street (now Truman Avenue) in Key West was arrested for selling beer on a Sunday, and customer Harvey Stirrup was charged with consuming beer on Sunday. The men were given bonds of $250 and $25, respectively.

1863 – One hundred sixty-five masons and laborers had recently arrived at Key West to work on the East and West Martello Towers, though some of the force was dispatched to Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas for work there.