1831 – After Edward Glover, lightkeeper at the Dry Tortugas, filed a salvage claim on a brig wrecked at those islands, Key West Judge James Webb purposefully awarded him a low amount. Webb’s opinion noted the “impolicy of placing temptations within the reach of Light House Keepers” who might insufficiently perform their duties so resulting wrecked ships would improve their financial gain.

1863 – Post returns from Fort Jefferson for September showed that 588 men were stationed at the Dry Tortugas, including 125 prisoners.

1954 – Key West Police Chief Bienvenido Perez continued a crackdown on vice in the city by personally conducting a raid of the Mardi Gras Club on Duval Street. Three women were arrested and charged with “participating in a performance of an indecent and immoral nature.” The club manager was arrested, too.

1957 – Key Colony Beach became the second city in Monroe County when, at a town hall meeting, the community’s 11 qualified voters approved incorporation.

1986 – The Key West Citizen announced it was building new headquarters on Northside Drive, which would allow the newspaper to modernize and “leap forward into the computer age.” The Citizen planned to make the move from its longtime 515 Greene Street address in approximately one year.

1864 – A soldier stationed at Fort Jefferson wrote of the burial of his comrade Henry Wilson: “His body was put on a skiff at the wharf then a salute of eight guns at once, three times. I then by request was permitted to attend the body with those who went to inter it. It is on an island about 2 miles north of this fort & is called Sand Key.”

1936 – To generate funds for maintenance, the Key West Aquarium began charging an admission fee. The price of entry was 15 cents for adults and five cents for children.

1900 – Several thousand Key Westers watched a quarter-mile race at Barracks Beach between the horses Laconda and Levin. Laconda won by a length. The bet was $1000 per side, and much money passed hands outside of the official stakes.

1993 – Tank Island in Key West Harbor went on the auction block with an opening bid of $25 million.

1956 – Construction of Key West’s new International Airport was expected to cost $1.1 million by the time of its scheduled opening in March 1957. The facility was badly needed as the number of passengers was growing considerably, from 39,000 in 1947 to an estimated 170,000 in 1956.

1986 – Monroe County Commissioners voted to open the county’s three landfill sites once a month with no disposal fees. The move was prompted by the increased dumping of garbage and junk in empty lots throughout the Keys.

1865 – Dr. Samuel Mudd, Edward Spangler, Michael O'Laughlen, and Samuel Arnold – all convicted as conspirators in the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln – arrived at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas to serve their prison terms. They joined 552 other prisoners being held there.

1945 – A plaque of polished brass was presented by the Florida State Chamber of Commerce to Key West’s William Curry’s Sons Company, recognizing the business for being in operation more than 100 years.

1904 – Mrs. Clarence K. Till, widow of police officer Till, was presented with a deed to a house and lot bought by the citizens of Key West after her husband was killed in the line of duty.

1976 – Key Wester Frank Balbontin sent a painted wood carving he made of the White House to President Gerald Ford as a Bicentennial gift from the island. It had taken Balbontin six months to complete the 24x36-inch artwork.

1926 – The War Department awarded a contract to the Over Sea Co. to construct a new causeway to Fort Taylor. The new land bridge was expected to give easier access to the old fort, making it more attractive to the many visitors to the island.

1937 – One hundred and sixty-seven residents living between Card Sound and the Matecumbe Keys petitioned the Monroe County Commission for protection against trespassers and vagrants who were frequenting the lime groves and other areas of the Upper Keys.

1989 – The Key West Economic Review Committee proposed that a 25-cent fee be charged to every person watching the sunset from Mallory Square, which would generate nearly $100,000 annually.

1986 – Construction began on a project to widen U.S. 1 in Marathon from two lanes to four lanes from 37th to 107th Streets. Work was expected to be completed in late 1987.

1953 – Miss Etta Patterson’s coconut cake recipe, long a Key West favorite, was published across the nation in “This Week Magazine” in a feature written by food editor Clementine Paddleford.