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October 19
1901 – City of Key West officials were looking for a new cemetery site, as the existing cemetery was crowded and there was not much room for new burials. It was thought any new location should be some distance from town for sanitary reasons.

Florida Keys History Center
Oct 18, 20252 min read


October 17
1975 – City of Key West officials met with members of the Old Island Restoration Commission, and all agreed to an ordinance that would give the OIRC jurisdiction over the construction, repair, or alteration of structures in the city’s historic district.

Keys History Center
Oct 16, 20252 min read


October 10
1975 – After refusing to pay a new $11 per cubic yard disposal fee, the City of Key Colony Beach was barred from using the Monroe County dump at Boot Key. Key Colony had a policy of not charging for trash pickup, and the mayor vowed not to break it.

Florida Keys History Center
Oct 9, 20252 min read


October 3
1985 – The City of Key West listed privately owned areas of the Key West salt ponds as desirable for purchase by the State of Florida under its Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) program. Many residents considered the ponds to be the last remaining natural expanse on the island.

Florida Keys History Center
Oct 2, 20252 min read


October 1
1935 – The landing barge for the Miami-Key West Airways seaplanes was moved from the railroad terminus to the yacht basin (the former Naval Station submarine basin), which was better located and better protected. It was hoped the change would foster daily round-trip flights between the two cities.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 30, 20252 min read


September 25
1925 – Four stowaways were found hidden in the oil tank of the P.& O. railroad car ferry Jos. R. Parrott when it landed at Key West from Havana. The men, who claimed to have been born in Portugal, were expected to be sent back to Cuba.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 24, 20252 min read


September 23
1930 – Secretary of the Navy Charles F. Adams ordered the Naval Station at Key West to be placed in inoperative status no later than November 30. The closure was intended to save money as part of a broader “economy campaign” instituted by President Hoover.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 22, 20252 min read


September 20
1909 – Monroe County Deputy Sheriff B.W. Glisson arrived at Key West from Knight’s Key on the steamer Mascotte, with prisoners Manuel Moses, Nod Cornell, Elio McKinney, and E.E. Whalton. Glisson had arrested the men for selling whiskey without a license at the railroad work camps.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 19, 20252 min read


September 14
1960 – Poucher’s grocery store in Islamorada was purposefully destroyed by fire when, after days without power from Hurricane Donna, it was determined the rotting meats and vegetables inside were becoming a health hazard.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 13, 20252 min read


September 13
1963 – Long Key residents voted to incorporate a portion of the island as a municipality, approved naming the new city “Layton,” and selected Del Layton to serve as mayor.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 12, 20252 min read


September 11
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 10, 20252 min read


September 2
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Sep 1, 20252 min read


September 1
1976 – President Gerald Ford signed the authorization to transfer ownership of Key West’s Fort Taylor to the State of Florida.

Florida Keys History Center
Aug 31, 20252 min read


August 29
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Aug 28, 20252 min read


August 28
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Aug 27, 20252 min read


August 26
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.

Florida Keys History Center
Aug 25, 20252 min read


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
Aug 22, 20252 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 13, 20252 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 4, 20251 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 28, 20252 min read
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