1964 – The Monroe County Commission, in a secret meeting, approved plans to raze the 11-year-old county jail in Key West and replace it with a three-story structure housing a new jail and courtroom facilities.

1956 – The Church of God at 905 Grinnell Street in Key West celebrated the arrival of their new pastor, the Reverend G.W. Fletcher Philips.

1919 – The Key West Branch of the Afro-American Independent Insurance Co. held a luncheon reception for ministers of the city at Newman Methodist Episcopal Church. The church was richly decorated with flowers and potted plants, and “the entire affair was one of the greatest events of the season.”

1974 – Fire destroyed the La Plaza grocery at 630 Fleming Street in Key West and an adjacent store and conch house at 628 and 624 Fleming. An Elizabeth Street home was damaged. The grocery building, across from the Key West Library, originally housed Pierce Bros. Hardware, established 75 years earlier.

1903 – The cornerstone was laid for the First Congregational Church on William Street. The ceremony was conducted by Reverend S.F. Gale, Home Missionary Superintendent for the Congregational Church of Florida.

1959 – Some 25 members of the Marathon-based Tortugas Shrimpers Association met with elected officials in Tallahassee to urge the passage of a bill that would reopen areas of the Tortugas shrimp beds that had been closed for conservation.

1956 – The First Baptist Church on Eaton Street at the corner of Bahama Street was destroyed by fire.

1939 – Construction of the cable schooner Western Union was progressing rapidly.

1956 – The M.S. Allen Funeral Home opened in a new concrete-block building at 325 Julia Street in Key West.

1940 – Key Wester William W. Demeritt was commissioned a Captain in the Coast Guard.

1999 – A group called “Citizens Coalition for the Preservation of Keys Character” was working to dissolve the new Village of Islamorada.

1946 – The U.S. Navy announced that a submarine squadron consisting of one tender and 10 submarines would be based in Key West.

1925 – The Key West sponge fleet left port for their second trip of the season to the sponging grounds near Bahia Honda.

1897 – The USS Maine fired warning shots toward schooners leaving Key West to command them to halt.

1952 – Key West musician and Army veteran Edwar Weech surprised everyone at the V.F.W. Hall by playing a Christmas night saxophone solo.

1897 – The USS Maine fired warning shots toward schooners leaving Key West to command them to halt.