1926 – The new issue of the Lighthouse Service Bulletin explained how drinking water was obtained for the light stations along the Florida Reef: Rainwater that fell on the painted lighthouse structures was caught and carried by gutters and pipes to 8,000-gallon storage tanks, a method that had been practiced for nearly 75 years.

1961 – Monroe County Commissioner Clarence Higgs died suddenly at his Grinnell Street home in Key West at age 59. Higgs had been on the commission since 1944, and he was active in organized labor, having served as business manager of the local Carpenters’ Union for 22 years.

1912 – Keys political leader Wilhelmina Goehring Harvey was born at 1400 Petronia Street in Key West. She served on the Monroe County School Board and the Monroe County Commission, and she was the first woman to serve as Monroe County Mayor.

2015 – After a year of construction, the new Vietnam Living Memorial in Key West’s Bayview Park was unveiled. Hundreds attended the event, many of them veterans, along with their families and supporters.

1916 – A Tampa newspaper correspondent reported, “The Key West Athletic building is becoming more popular every day. Every afternoon large crowds are seated in its cool porches enjoying the delightful sea breezes for which this city is famous.”

1930 – The Lighthouse Service determined that small, battery-powered elecric light were a feasible replacement for those lit by gas.

1858 - Sombrero Key Lighthouse was first lighted under the charge of lightkeeper Joseph Bethel.

1852 – The Carysfort Reef Lighthouse was lighted and began operation.

1985 – Outraged Key Westers fumed at city commissioners, who were considering plans for a sewage treatment plant near Fort Taylor.