April 25

The conch shell sculpture at Key West High School, designed and constructed by welding teacher George Carey and his students in 1985-86.

1832 – John J. Audubon arrived at Indian Key on the Revenue Cutter Marion.

1926 – Confederate Memorial Day was observed by the Stephen R. Mallory chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy at the Confederate memorial in Bayview Park. Hymns and readings preceded a memorial address by Rev. W.K.E. James. The decoration of Confederate graves in the Key West Cemetery followed.

1946 – Per a new policy instituted by the City Commission, the Key West Recreation Department announced that Bayview Park would be available to the island’s Black residents for Saturday night baseball games.

1951 – A Compania Cubana de Aviacion four-motor aircraft carrying 34 passengers and a five-man crew flying from Miami to Havana collided with a Navy SNB-5 trainer with a two-man crew. Both planes crashed into the sea off South Beach with no survivors. The investigation later found both planes at fault in the accident.

1975 – Key West’s first Bicentennial project, the Conch Tour Train depot and general offices at the corner of Duval and Front streets, was dedicated.

1975 – County Commissioner Harry S. Pritchard was unanimously elected Mayor of Monroe County by the commission.

1986 – An 18½-foot, five-ton steel sculpture of a conch shell was installed at the entrance to Key West High School. The massive artwork was created by the school’s welding teacher George Carey and his 36 students. Dubbed the “largest conch shell in the world,” it took eight months to complete.

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Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.

Image: The conch shell sculpture at Key West High School, designed and constructed by welding teacher George Carey and his students in 1985-86. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.