top of page


August 23
1940 – Mabel McKinney sold her Key Largo property fronting the highway and known as “Mabel’s Place” for $1500 to A.K. Gray of Miami.

Florida Keys History Center
2 days ago2 min read


August 14
1933 – The wife, daughters, and grandchildren of recently deposed Cuban President Gerardo Machado arrived at Key West on the yacht Gen. Juan B. Zayas. Local officials offered them safe conduct, and a special train was arranged to take them northward.

Florida Keys History Center
Aug 132 min read


August 5
1941 – The old Consumers’ Ice Plant at James and Grinnell streets in Key West burned. Firefighters had an especially difficult time with the idle structure’s cork insulation, which smoldered for hours after the main blaze was extinguished.

Florida Keys History Center
Aug 41 min read


July 29
1960 – Betty Bruce proposed that a collection of pictures, maps, and books telling of the history of old Key West would be a worthy addition to the Monroe County Public Library, and she encouraged local persons to donate such materials “so that a real Key West historical corner could be established.”

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 282 min read


July 25
1863 – In a ceremony at Clinton Place in Key West, the local citizenry presented a $750 gold sword to Colonel Tilghman H. Good, Commander of the 47th Pennsylvania Regiment. Col. Good had rescinded an order that would have banished to Charleston nearly 600 Key Westers suspected of being Confederate sympathizers.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 242 min read


July 20
1985 - Mel Fisher and his team at Treasure Salvors, Inc., found the “mother lode” of the 1622 Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha after having searched for it for more than 15 years.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 202 min read


July 11
1910 – The four-masted schooners Carrie A. Lowe and the Charles A. Dumas came into Key West with supplies for the Florida East Coast Railroad and the Mallory Steamship Lines. With their arrival, there were five four-masted schooners in the harbor.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 102 min read


July 9
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Jul 82 min read


June 24
1925 – A new hotel to be built on a one-block lot at the corner of Washington and Thompson streets in Key West, and called the Ruy Lopez Hotel, was announced. In addition to the hotel, a new 15-block subdivision between it and the Atlantic Ocean was also planned.

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 232 min read


June 19
1994 – The City of Key West implemented a new “Cuban Heritage Trail” to bring awareness to the past and present contributions of Cubans to the island’s history and culture. A bilingual map and walking guide featured significant Cuban-oriented sites across the island.

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 182 min read


June 7
1960 – Monroe County commissioners ordered staff to develop regulations for the development of new Keys subdivisions. Commissioner A. Maitland Adams noted, “Subdivision developers are providing only one foot of elevation in many cases; miles of canals are being dug without regard to general development.”

Florida Keys History Center
Jun 62 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 23
1956 – The Florida Internal Improvement Board turned down the City of Key West’s request for an 11.48-acre site at the foot of Whitehead Street for the establishment of a recreation area. The city wanted to turn the area into a beach that would be connected to the island by an extension of Whitehead Street.

Florida Keys History Center
May 222 min read


May 19
1962 – The Key West Citizen’s “Power for Peace” float was awarded the best-of-theme prize in the Key West Armed Forces Day parade.

Florida Keys History Center
May 181 min read


May 13
1873 – Lodge No. 13 of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows was instituted at Key West.

Florida Keys History Center
May 122 min read


May 1
2000 – The Florida Department of Community Affairs awarded Key West an additional 54 units of affordable housing under the Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) because the city had preserved the Berg property, an unaltered beachfront area and home to many species of indigenous Keys plants and animals.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 301 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 15
1930 – Andrew J. Page moved his store into a modern two-story concrete building he had built at 501 Duval Street, at the corner of Fleming, in Key West.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 141 min read


April 9
1975 – Robert “Speedy” Neal pitched a perfect game in a Little Major League contest at Key West’s Peter Dopp Field.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 82 min read


April 6
1925 – A Keys-wide real estate boom had prompted Key West lot owners to clean their vacant properties.

Florida Keys History Center
Apr 52 min read
News
bottom of page