top of page


September 29
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 282 min read


September 4
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 32 min read


August 12
1946 – After being re-tested, the waters of South Beach in Key West were declared safe and free of all disease germs. Staff from the Navy Hospital had issued a warning earlier in the week saying the beach was contaminated, unsafe for bathing, and off-limits to Navy personnel.

Florida Keys History Center
Aug 112 min read


July 31
1925 – Jefferson B. Browne and George W. Reynolds of Key West sold the Jefferson Hotel on Duval Street to James Simpson and M. Karaian of New York for $75,000. The new owners planned extensive renovations for the grand old structure.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 301 min read


July 26
1902 – The electric and ice plant of William Curry & Sons on Front Street was destroyed when three boilers exploded. Thomas Webb and William H. Saunders were killed when the building collapsed. Pieces of boiler were thrown 10 blocks away, and the city was plunged into darkness. Damage to the plant was estimated at $75,000.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 252 min read


July 19
1907 – The Excavator No.1 boat was blown up and destroyed by a gasoline explosion while employed on the Florida East Coat Railroad extension. Capt. Benjamin Peacon and Sonny Parks of Key West were severely burned and brought to the island for treatment.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 181 min read


July 10
2008 – The dilapidated, Depression-era bandstand at Bayview Park in Key West was torn down. The bandstand had once been a community hub and the site of concerts, political rallies, and high school graduations.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 92 min read


June 30
1915 – A group of Key Westers took the railroad to Sugarloaf Key for a tour of the Chase sponge farm. Some of the old spongers in the group said, “they did not think such things could be done by artificial raising of sponges.”

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 292 min read


June 29
1966 – Marine Lance Corporal Leland (Skipper) Albury, a Key West native, died from wounds he received in battle in Vietnam. Albury was a renowned tennis player for the Key West High School team, and the courts at Bayview Park are named in his honor.

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 282 min read


May 28
1962 – Florida State Road Department surveyors were in Key West to examine the site for a proposed causeway to cross Garrison Bight. The span, to be built on fill from deepening the bight, would start between First and Fifth Streets on one end and join Palm Avenue at the intersection of Eisenhower Drive on the other.

Florida Keys History Center
May 272 min read


May 18
1913 – Agustin Parla Orduna, a Key West native, flew his sea plane to Cuba, becoming the second man to fly across the Florida Straits.

Florida Keys History Center
May 171 min read


April 30
1860 – The U.S. Navy steamer Mohawk brought the captured slave ship Wildfire into Key West Harbor. The Wildfire had 510 Africans on board – people taken from the Congo River region and intended to be sold into slavery in Cuba. The Wildfire was in violation of U.S. and international law, and the Navy had been searching for such lawbreakers.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 292 min read


April 25
1961 – Charles Helberg, the builder and original proprietor of the Key Wester hotel, resumed control of the resort after it had been under the charge of an absentee hotel management group for four years. Helberg said the absentee model did not serve patrons, employees, or the community very well.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 242 min read


April 21
1980 – The Key West fishing boats Dos Hermanos and Blanche III arrived in Key West with 48 Cuban refugees, which began the Mariel Boatlift.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 202 min read


April 14
1930 – A statement was read at the Key West City Commission meeting advising any Greek sponge fishermen from Tarpon Springs to avoid moving their operations to Key West.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 132 min read


March 19
1937 – The turtling schooner A.M. Adams arrived in Key West on its first voyage, delivering a cargo of 380 green sea turtles.

Florida Keys History Center
Mar 181 min read


March 2
1966 – Actress and singer Jayne Mansfield began a nine-night run of her one-woman show at the Tradewinds Supper Club.

Florida Keys History Center
Mar 21 min read


March 1
1898 - A Naval Court of Inquiry was organized to investigate the sinking of the USS Maine, and it would meet in the Key West Custom House.

Florida Keys History Center
Mar 12 min read


February 21
1935 – The Havana Madrid Club in Key West celebrated its grand opening.

Florida Keys History Center
Feb 212 min read


January 19
1925 – A report from Key West said, “Bathing conditions have been ideal for the past several days.

Florida Keys History Center
Jan 191 min read
News
bottom of page