1912 – Henry Flagler arrived on the first train from the mainland to Key West, officially opening the Overseas Extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad. Mr. Flagler was welcomed to Key West by Mayor J.N. Fogarty, distinguished guests, and probably the largest crowd to ever have gathered on the island.

1998  – Islamorada resident and fly-fishing pioneer Jimmie Albright died at the age of 82. He pioneered the use of fly tackle for catching bonefish and tarpon.

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.

1938 – Key West’s charter boat fishing fleet moved to new quarters at the concrete dock along Trumbo Road. Six boats were at their new berths.

1921 – Capt. John W. Pierce retired after serving 62 years as a coast and bar pilot at Key West, where he was generally considered the dean of pilots between Hampton Roads and Pensacola. Pierce was born on the island in 1839, to parents who had emigrated from Bermuda.

1974 – Filming for “92 in the Shade” began at the Cow Key Marina on Stock Island, with actors Peter Fonda, Warren Oates, and Margot Kidder. The film, based on author Thomas McGuane’s novel of the same name, told a tale of rival Keys charter fishermen.

1975 – According to a count by Hank Kokenzie, Director of Veterans Affairs for Monroe County, there were approximately 12,000 U.S. military veterans residing in the Keys.

2008 – The dilapidated, Depression-era bandstand at Bayview Park in Key West was torn down. The bandstand had once been a community hub and the site of concerts, political rallies, and high school graduations.

1974 – Fire destroyed the La Plaza grocery at 630 Fleming Street in Key West and an adjacent store and conch house at 628 and 624 Fleming. An Elizabeth Street home was damaged. The grocery building, across from the Key West Library, originally housed Pierce Bros. Hardware, established 75 years earlier.

1962 – The U.S. flag was raised over Mallory Square to mark the 140 years since Lt. Matthew C. Perry had first flown it over Key West in 1822. Two boy scouts from Key West’s Troop 258 raised the colors while the Fleet Sonar School band played and Navy and civilian dignitaries looked on.

1962 – Square dancers from all 50 states converged on Key West to begin two days of dancing at the island’s convention center. Their “End of U.S. 1 Jamboree” was a follow-up to a just-completed national convention in Miami Beach.

1970 – The USS Quillback (SS 525) was open to the public for tours at Naval Station Key West’s Pier 1.

1930 – After having explored a change in routes, the Mallory Steamship company announced that existing service would remain.

1925 – A Keys-wide real estate boom had prompted Key West lot owners to clean their vacant properties.

1939 – A Works Progress Administration sewer line project employing 442 Key West men had, to date, laid 20 miles of sewer pipe in the city.

956 – The Cuban ferry, the City of Havana, sailed for the first time from the new terminal on Stock Island.

1955 – Mackerel and tarpon were running in Key West Harbor and dozens of fishermen were trying their luck from the Clyde-Mallory Dock.

1940 – Key Wester William W. Demeritt was commissioned a Captain in the Coast Guard.

1975 – A representative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development met the mayor of Key West and toured Duval Street with him.

2004 – The City of Key West hired Armando Parra as official chicken catcher to try to control the island’s free-ranging chicken population.