1827 – Former U.S. Navy Commodore David Porter, now commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy, brought the frigate Liberator, the brig...

1902 – Nearly a dozen Key West-based sponging vessels were seized by British authorities for interloping and illegally gathering sponges...

1857 – The wrecking schooner Florida, while loading cotton from a ship ashore at Caesar’s Creek, was burned to the waterline. While the...

1836 – During the year of 1835, a total of 17 vessels were adjudicated in the Admiralty Court in Key West and salvage fees of $88,435.18...

1898 – The Battleship Maine arrived at Havana, Cuba at 11 a.m. 1908 – Rumors were spreading that further construction of the Overseas...

1863 – Official news of the Emancipation Proclamation reached Key West. The Black community celebrated with a parade and party. 1898 –...

1896 – William Curry, Key West’s most highly esteemed citizen and businessman, died. He was born at Green Turtle Cay, Bahamas, on Sept....

1831 – The new Collector of Customs, William A. Whitehead, arrived on the schooner Evan T. Ellicott, 58 days from Baltimore. 1853 –...

1871 – The Cuban refugee community dedicated the San Carlos Hall. The hall was a meeting place to discuss political matters, for...

The Keys Citizen donated bound volumes of its newspapers to the Florida Keys History Center.

1825 – The Colombian schooner Colombiano arrived at Knight’s Key in a leaking condition after having struck a reef off Cuba. Several...

1872 – Dr. Daniel Whitehurst died at the age of 65. A native of Virginia, he came to Key West in 1844 as post surgeon at Fort Jefferson....

1906 – Commander Beehler of Naval Station Key West reported the receipt at the wireless telegraph station of an eight-word message from...

1832 – In the previous year 290 ships entered the port of Key West. Of this 172 arrived from foreign ports and 118 from American ports....

1833 – A fire started in the house of Captain Pardon Greene and destroyed the adjacent hotel and six of eight houses, together with the...

1848 – The new Key West Lighthouse on Whitehead Street was lighted for the first time. 1902 – Some of Key West’s leading Black citizens...

1903 – A near-riot broke out during a vaudeville performance at the Cincinnati Bar in Key West. The melee started when a sailor...

1904 – The British steamer Sorle, sailing from Tampa to Europe with phosphate, ran aground near Rebecca Shoal. Wreckers refloated the...

A technical error and bad weather led to parts of a CBS special tribute to George Gershwin being filmed at the Key West Bight.

1825 – Lieutenant Otho Stallings of the US Navy died of yellow fever at Key West. 1891 – The Key West City Commission passed an...