1975 – A team from Monroe County and the Historic Key West Preservation Board began a six-week project to remove dilapidated exterior additions at Old City Hall in Key West. The goal of the project was to strip the historic building down to its original configuration and rebuild the bell and clock tower.

1938 – Key Wester Charles F. Dupont died at age 77. In 1888, he became the first elected African American Sheriff in Florida when he was selected by Monroe County voters. He served as Monroe County Sheriff for five years. Key West’s DuPont Lane is named in his honor.

1908 – The Mallory Steamship Co. announced that, effective Oct. 1, its New York-to-Galveston line would no longer call at Key West. Instead, a new line from Mobile and Tampa would service the island, though a Galveston-to-New York vessel would still stop at Key West on Saturdays for freight and passengers.

1994 – Former Key West Mayor Richard Heyman died at age 59, after a long struggle with AIDS. Heyman, who served two terms from 1983- 85 and 1987-89, was the nation’s first openly gay mayor.

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.

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.

1960 – Hurricane Donna passed over the Middle and Upper Keys with 150-mph winds, causing extensive damage: Over half of the structures from Marathon to Islamorada were destroyed; tides were 9 to 13.5 feet above normal; six highway bridges were severely damaged, and the water pipeline was wrecked in five places.

1905 – Three hundred men were working on Key Largo to build the railroad bed for the Florida East Coast’s Overseas Railway, and five miles had been graded on the island to that date. Another crew was making soundings and drilling bore holes at Knights Key to determine the best foundation to cross it.

1961 – ABC Television aired an episode of the series “Expedition” featuring Marathon and the Middle Keys, with a focus on the area’s recovery from Hurricane Donna.