1935 – The Cortez Cigar Co. building on Ann Street in Key West was destroyed by fire. The first alarm sounded at 10 a.m. and all the city’s firefighters arrived to battle the blaze, but the flames spread too quickly to be contained. Chief Harry Baker thought the fire was set intentionally.

1985 – The 297-foot ocean freighter Eagle was sunk as an artificial reef in 100 feet of water off Islamorada. The project was sponsored by the Florida Keys Artificial Reef Association and the Keys Association of Dive Operators.

1940 – Author Thelma Strabel moved into her new Key West home at 400 South Street by the Southernmost Point. Strabel wrote the novel “Reap The Wild Wind,” a story about island wreckers that was later made into a movie.

1935 – The Commandant’s residence on the Naval Station in Key West was being refurbished and refurnished in readiness for occupancy by visitors from Washington. Among those anticipated to be staying in the residence was Marvin McIntyre, secretary to President Roosevelt.

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.

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.

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.

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

1945 – A fire engine first used by the Key West Fire Department’s Tiger Hose Company No.3 in 1917, was taken out of storage to be refurbished and returned to service. Fire Chief Leroy Torres said, “There is still a lot of good in old ‘Queen Mary,’” using the department’s nickname for the engine.

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

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.  

1976 – The Singleton Corporation announced they had bought Sea Farms, Inc. and the Thompson & O’Neal Shrimp Company. The purchase included most of the waterfront of Key West Bight.

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

1869 – Dr. Samuel Mudd, who had been a prisoner for four years at Fort Jefferson, was pardoned and released.

1911 – Curtiss Aircraft test pilot J.A.W. McCurdy attempted to fly from Key West to Havana but crashed just short of the goal.

1911 – The French line steamer Louisiane, which had gone ashore at Sombrero Key in the hurricane of October 2010, was refloated.

1912 – President William H. Taft arrived in Key West via train.