1917 – John Lowe Jr. died in Key West at the age of 84. He came to the island from the Bahamas when he was 15 years old and worked for William Curry. He later started his own business and became the island’s leading sponge dealer. His home at 620 Southard Street is one of the architectural treasures of Key West.

1934 – Florida Governor Dave Sholtz arrived in Key West for his annual inspection of the Florida National Guard, which was in camp for two weeks of training at Fort Taylor.

1952 – Charles Cremata, a member of the Key West Fire Department for 15 years, was named fire chief. He replaced Leroy Torres, who had died two weeks before.

1946 – A conceptual plan to use the airfield at Boca Chica for both Navy and civilian purposes was announced by Charles B. Donaldson, Civil Aeronautics Administration Director of Airports. A meeting of interested parties was scheduled for the end of the month to formalize an agreement.

1876 – The new Key West City Hall on Greene Street was dedicated by Mayor Carlos Manuel de Cespedes. The main address, “A History of Key West,” was given by Walter C. Maloney. A fire alarm sounded before he could finish speaking, and the crowd followed the firemen. Maloney’s speech was later published as “A Sketch of the History of Key West, Florida.”

1926 – Jumbo, a loggerhead sea turtle, celebrated his third birthday at the aquarium at the eastern end of Key West. Jumbo had been hatched in a sandbox onboard Peter Roberts’ fishing boat and then hand-raised alongside Roberts’ dock for two years, before being transferred to the aquarium because of his increasing size.

1989 – Members of the Monroe County Citizens Jail Advisory Committee were shocked when a project report said building a new jail on Stock Island would cost $95 million. Monroe County Mayor Pro-tem Gene Lytton said, “For a $95 million jail, I’ll never get reelected.”

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.

1971 – Florida Secretary of State Richard Stone announced that Fort Taylor and the Key West Armory had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

1912 – The new Monroe Theater at 623 Duval was screening the 1911 Irish feature “Arrah-na-pogue,” with admission at 10, 15 or 20 cents based on seating. The Airdome at 509 Duval Street in Key West was showing the 1903 film “The Great Train Robbery.” Admission was 10 cents for unlimited viewing.

1861 – Supplies and a detachment of 62 troops from the First U.S. Artillery were landed at Fort Taylor from the steamer Daniel Webster to reinforce Capt. John M. Brannan’s company. The Webster then steamed to the Dry Tortugas with additional men and six months of provisions for Fort Jefferson.

1872 – A correspondent wrote of Key West, “At the wharves you see the ugly hulls of wrecked vessels, which were formerly the main objects of trade in Key West. But this gloomy business is falling off every day. The few years of ocean steam navigation is curtailing that of sailing vessels, and the wreckers complain of dull times.”

2006 – The Friends of Fort Taylor launched a membership drive to call attention to the plight of the aging 19th century Key West fortification, which had suffered considerable damage months earlier during Hurricane Wilma.

1956 – Monroe County engineers presented plans for new amenities at Indian Key Fill to the commission. The planned improvements included four round, concrete bathhouses with showers, along with picnic tables and benches.

1976 – Monroe County commissioners voted to demolish the long-abandoned and “haunted” Clark mansion in Marathon. The once-palatial waterfront home had been vacant since the owner was found floating dead in an adjacent lagoon over 20 years earlier. In more recent times the structure had been occupied by transient squatters.

1951 – Popular entertainment personality Arthur Godfrey broadcast his daily, nationwide CBS Radio show from Pigeon Key.

1926 – Detroit golf professional Harry Hampton and his assistant Ed Valentine arrived at Key West, where Hampton would serve as the course inspector for the season. The men were planning to host a series of golf tournaments on the island over the coming months.

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

1857 – The schooner Joseph Crandall of Massachusetts arrived at Key West with 125,000 bricks for the construction of Fort Taylor.

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.