1937 – A plan was approved to remove WPA highway workers from the Upper Keys and bring them to Key West in case of a hurricane. Coast Guard patrol boats were to be used to move the men to No Name Key where they would then be taken to Key West by automobile.

2001 – In an agreement with the city, house boats began leaving “Houseboat Row” along Key West’s southeastern seawall to go to Garrison Bight. Twenty-six vessels were expected to make the move, and Key West Assistant City Manager John Jones hoped to transfer one a day during September.

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.

1900 – Several thousand Key Westers watched a quarter-mile race at Barracks Beach between the horses Laconda and Levin. Laconda won by a length. The bet was $1000 per side, and much money passed hands outside of the official stakes.

1917 – John Lowe Jr. died in Key West at the age of 84. He came to the island from the Bahamas when he was 15 years old and worked for William Curry. He later started his own business and became the island’s leading sponge dealer. His home at 620 Southard Street is one of the architectural treasures of Key West.

1988 – Pritam Singh held a ground-breaking ceremony to begin construction on the ambitious redevelopment of Truman Annex in Key West.

1993 – Tank Island in Key West Harbor went on the auction block with an opening bid of $25 million.

1936 – Tarpon fishing was becoming increasingly popular in the Keys, and many were being caught around Key West. Two of the more notable catches during the past 10 days were both over 6 feet long, each weighing more than 100 pounds.

1956 – The Monroe County School District had hired 70 new teachers for the upcoming school year, but with a shortage of housing in the area, the Chamber of Commerce put out a call for any available apartments, houses, or rooms to accommodate the new instructors.

1905 – An appropriation of nearly $500,000 was authorized for improvements at the Key West Naval Station, including new buildings, an extension of the coal sheds, and the construction of a quay wall from the sheds to Fort Taylor.

1994 – The number of Cuban refugees who successfully crossed the Florida Straits in 1994 surpassed the 3,656 who completed the journey in 1993. Authorities estimated that only 4 out of 10 who attempted the crossing were successful.

2001 – The City of Key West banned commercial kayaking tours in the island’s Salt Ponds.

1887 – As yellow fever raged across Key West, local health officers and officials of the Marine Hospital Service discussed a plan to remove people who were not “acclimated” to the disease from the island city to another key.

1955 – Florida Greyhound buses resumed service after a drivers’ strike. Airlines, and even cab drivers, had been able to get some travelers from Key West to Miami, but there was particular concern in the Keys that Navy personnel would not have been able to travel for the holidays.

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 – After refusing to pay a new $11 per cubic yard disposal fee, the City of Key Colony Beach was barred from using the Monroe County dump at Boot Key. Key Colony had a policy of not charging for trash pickup, and the mayor vowed not to break it.

1960 – A two-day “autorama,” presented by Bevis Lewis Chevrolet, Estenoz Motors, K.T. Motors, Duncan Auto Sales, and Navarro, Inc., began at the Food Fair Shopping Center in Key West. The gala event gave the public a first look at the new 1961 automobile models.

1960 – Dredge and fill operations at Sigsbee Park (aka Dredgers Key) were completed, and the construction of 300 new housing units there would begin shortly.

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.

1960 – The Monroe County Democrats opened a “Kennedy for President” headquarters at 532 Duval Street in Key West. The office would be staffed daily to provide information about presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and other Democratic contenders.