1936 – The U.S. Coast Guard cable ship Pequot completed the laying of 23,000 feet of communication cable from Alligator Reef Lighthouse to Lower Matecumbe Key. An earlier cable had been destroyed in the hurricane of September 1935, and the lighthouse had been cut off since then.

1986 – Spurred by overwhelming neighborhood opposition to the plan, the Key West City Commission denied a request for the conversion of the former St. Stephen Church building at 330 Julia Street into a restaurant.

2001 – The Welters family compound on Rockland Key was destroyed in an overnight blaze. The set of colorful buildings with a small farm had been home to 98-year-old Lewis Welters and members of his extended family for over 50 years.

1950 – Thousands of fish were found in Key West streets after a heavy rain, with most along Caroline Street between William and Grinnell. One theory was that a large waterspout had carried the fish ashore, an idea supported by the fact that most of the fish were mullet which swim on the surface. Others insisted it had rained fish, and one man said he saw a full-grown sponge fall from the sky.

1998 – The USCGC Keeper-class cutter Joshua Appleby (WLM 556) was launched. It was named for the keeper of the Sand Key Lighthouse who was killed by the hurricane of October 11, 1846.

1909 – The Key West Elks hosted a turtle supper at their Duval Street clubhouse. Guests were C.L. Meyer, manager of the P. & O. Steamship Company, and a Mr. Ullman from the community of Planter on Key Largo.

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.

1845 – The Marine Hospital opened in Key West for the treatment of merchant marine sailors. It could accommodate approximately 50 patients.

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.

1991 – Monroe County staff and nearly 100 volunteers collected more than 100 tons of garbage during the “Great Stock Island Clean-up.” The island had long been plagued by illegal dumping.

2001 – County-owned Higgs Beach Park needed a $2 million renovation, prompting many to wonder whether Monroe County should hold and maintain a park that is entirely within the city of Key West. Monroe County Mayor George Neugent felt the money could be better spent on recreation facilities in unincorporated areas of the county.

1980 – A task force of Key West business leaders was formed to combat the perception that Cuban refugees from the Mariel boatlift had overwhelmed the island. Merchants reported that business was down between 25 and 50 per cent compared to the previous year.

1926 – Police Chief Cleveland Niles began a policy of ringing the fire bell at nine o’clock in the evening to remind Key West juveniles 16 years and younger that there was a curfew and it was time for them to go home.

1822 – Lt. Matthew C. Perry of the US Schooner Shark raised the American flag over the island of Key West for the first time, and the Keys were formally taken in the name of the United States. Lt. Perry named the island Thompson’s Island and the harbor Port Rogers, in honor of the Secretary of the Navy and president of the Navy Board. A 13-gun salute was then fired, followed by toasts and song.

1976 – Windsor Village Condominiums, a one-acre tract with 11 houses and fronted by Windsor Lane, was established as a Key West literary compound. Writers John Hersey, Ralph Ellison, John Ciardi, and Richard Wilbur made the first purchases.

1976 – Huddle Pontiac Buick of Key West became an authorized dealer of the electric Sebring-Vanguard CitiCar. The two-passenger vehicle had a 38-mph cruising speed and a maximum range of 50 miles, with a base price of $2,738.

1949 – The Key West City Commission granted a lease to the Key West Charter Boatmen’s Association for a portion of Garrison Bight facing North Roosevelt Boulevard.

1995 – Bicycling magazine named Key West the most dangerous city in the U.S. for bicyclists. Florida DOT Bicycle/Pedestrian Coordinator Dan Burden noted, “It’s 19 times more dangerous to ride in Key West than anywhere else in the nation.”

1937 – The Florida Keys Hurricane Monument on Upper Matecumbe Key was dedicated. The Monument was in memory of those who lost their lives in the Labor Day Storm of 1935, and the ashes of 23 of the victims were interred at the site.

1960 – A team of “petroleum technicians, tool pushers, drillers, and roughnecks” from the California Company arrived in Key West to begin drilling four 6,000-foot test wells near the Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoals.