1926 – Eduardo H. Gato, Key West’s leading cigar manufacturer, died in Havana. He was born in Cuba in 1847 and came to Key West in 1874. His factory employed more than 500 workers. His last factory on Simonton Street still stands and is now used for Monroe County government offices.

1985 – After months of delay and debate, Key West city commissioners approved development of “The Village at Key West” on 112 acres adjacent to the Stock Island landfill. The project was to include a 339-room hotel and convention center, 192 condominiums, a marina and a beach, a restaurant, and 10 retail shops.

1935 – Wm R. Kenan, president of the Florida East Coast Railway, arrived in Key West to inspect the company’s railroad and hotel holdings on the island. He said there would be no determination about restoring the rail line until inspectors completed an assessment of damage caused by the Labor Day Hurricane.

1925 – The Norwegian steamship Capto arrived in Key West via the Panama Canal to discharge a cargo of 5 million feet of lumber from British Columbia. It was one of the largest lumber shipments in island history.

1909 – A category 3 hurricane with winds over 100 mph and rainfall of 8.12 inches in five hours struck Key West. Buildings wholly destroyed were the cigar factories of The Ruy Lopez Company, The Martinez Company, George W. Nichols & Company, and Aurelia Torres; St. Paul’s Episcopal Church; Sparks Chapel; English Wesleyan Church, Bethel A.M.E. Church; Fire Station No.1, Wolfson’s building, and Markovitz’ five & ten-cent store.

1955 – A “price war” erupted amongst Key West motel owners after Max Cohen, who owned three motels, began advertising $2 rooms. In response, the owners of eight other businesses posted signs advertising free rooms to stop Cohen from continuing his drastic price cuts.

1940 – Wallace Kirke, director of the Key West Housing Authority, issued a call for bids on the construction of the J.Y. Porter Place and Fort Village housing projects. Porter Place was to be on Trumbo Island with 136 units. Fort Village, at Virginia and Fort streets, was to have 84 units for “colored” families of Key West.

1951 – Developer Joe Sirugo agreed to sell 3,500 cubic yards of marl to the City of Key West. It would help satisfy the city’s need of 10,000 yards of marl to fill United Street between Leon and George streets and to fill George Street along the site of the new city housing project.

1960 – Key West police officer Cpl. Harry Sawyer was chosen “most outstanding law enforcement officer of the year” by the Key West Junior Chamber of Commerce. It was the first time in six years that a Key West officer had won the coveted county-wide honor.

1955 – Work was underway on the new County Beach at the foot of White Street. A wall was being built into the water around the West Martello Tower, and sand would be placed on the inside to cover a rocky area. Steps would lead to the ocean from the wall for the convenience of bathers.

1910 – The four-masted schooners Carrie A. Lowe and the Charles A. Dumas came into Key West with supplies for the Florida East Coast Railroad and the Mallory Steamship Lines. With their arrival, there were five four-masted schooners in the harbor.

1963 – Leonard “Mike” Warren celebrated his 20th anniversary of working at the snack and magazine stand in the Key West Federal Building. Warren was considered one of the city’s most popular and hardest working businessmen.

1957 – Miguel Garcia became the first person to water ski from Havana to Key West, accomplishing the feat in four hours and 15 minutes and using one ski. Garcia was backed by the Cuban National Sports Commission and the Key West Chamber of Commerce, which held a reception for him after his landing.

1905 – Members of Key West’s Black community were urging a boycott of the Key West electric railway on account of a new “Jim Crow” rule that was scheduled to go into effect on July 1 to separate streetcar passengers by race.

1957 – A Pan American Airways flag that flew over the airline’s first facility at Key West was presented to the Monroe County Commission by James A. Robbins of Clearwater, who had kept the banner for almost 30 years. The commissioners voted to ask the Pan American company to display it at their new offices.

1958 – Over 300 members of the Outdoor Writers Association of America were holding their annual convention at Key Colony Beach. The group participated in laying the cornerstone of the new Key Colony Beach Convention Center. 

1980 – A one-day record of 5,117 refugees arrived at Key West during the boatlift from Mariel, Cuba.

1955 – Monroe County commissioners deeded 1/2-acre of land near Hilton Haven to the Key West Lions Club. The County retained all mineral rights for the property, though.

2000 – The Florida Department of Community Affairs awarded Key West an additional 54 units of affordable housing under the Rate of Growth Ordinance (ROGO) because the city had preserved the Berg property, an unaltered beachfront area and home to many species of indigenous Keys plants and animals.

1959 – Some 25 members of the Marathon-based Tortugas Shrimpers Association met with elected officials in Tallahassee to urge the passage of a bill that would reopen areas of the Tortugas shrimp beds that had been closed for conservation.