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.

1956 – Florida State Senator Wm. Neblett was calling on Keys residents to provide old maps of the Dry Tortugas. Two small islets, both known as “Sand Key,” were once visible but had since submerged; their existence needed to be proved to help the state to retain control of the area.

1935 – A set of four murals painted by Works Progress Administration artist Richard Jansen were displayed for the first time at the Key West Country Club New Year’s Eve ball. The murals, considered to be his best Key West works, depicted aspects of semi-tropical life.

1891 – José Martí, the leading Cuban independence advocate, arrived at Key West from Tampa for his first visit to the island. He rallied Key West’s Cuban exile community to support the overthrow of Spanish rule over their island nation.

1960 – The East Martello Tower Museum opened a new exhibit called “The Playhouse,” which featured toys housed in the first playhouse built in Key West.

1955 – New Jersey industrialist Stanly Switlik presented the Monroe County School Board with 30 acres of land along Marathon Beach Road for the site of a new Marathon High School. Much of the ground was wetlands that would require filling before construction of the school could begin.

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.

1975 – Treasure hunter Mel Fisher announced he had purchased Brito’s Boat Yard at 629 Front Street in Key West. He planned to recreate a “pirate village” from 300 years ago on the property, with his replica galleon alongside. There would also be an artifact preservation facility, gold and silversmith shops, and a cocktail lounge.

1985 – The City of Key West listed privately owned areas of the Key West salt ponds as desirable for purchase by the State of Florida under its Conservation and Recreation Lands (CARL) program. Many residents considered the ponds to be the last remaining natural expanse on the island.

1983 – A group of New York actors, playwrights and theater supporters tried to purchase the late Tennessee Williams’s home in Key West for a museum. The effort failed from the lack of support and the difficulties of converting a house located in a quiet residential neighborhood into a commercial facility.

1981 – Peter Pell, one of the founders of Key West Hand Print Fabrics, died suddenly at his home in Key West. Pell, with his partner James Russell, founded Hand Print Fabrics in the early 1960’s.

1865 – Dr. Samuel Mudd, Edward Spangler, Michael O'Laughlen, and Samuel Arnold – all convicted as conspirators in the assassination of President Lincoln – arrived at Fort Jefferson in the Dry Tortugas to serve their prison terms. They joined 552 other prisoners being held there.

1914 – The U.S. Internal Revenue office was at 423 Front Street. The Deputy Collector was C.L. Knowles, and J.L. Johnson was the Stamp Deputy.

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.

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