August 13

The Scottish Rite Temple at 535 Eaton Street, Key West, when it was under construction.

1861 – An edict was issued stating that no vessels were allowed to leave Key West unless the owners and crews first took the oath of allegiance to the Union.

1894 – The U.S. Navy announced it was establishing a coaling station in Key West.

1911 – The Board of Public Instruction named R.E. Terrell as principal of the Russell Hall School in Key West. He was highly recommended from Apalachicola where he taught high school.

1932 – Preliminary work was started on a lighthouse at Smith Shoals. The shoals located north of the entrance to the Northwest Channel was named for Harbor Pilot Joshua Smith who had discovered the shoals.

1945 – Captain Herbert Pinder towed a sperm whale into Key West. He had harpooned the whale while returning from the Dry Tortugas.

1961 – Steel support beams, each 40 feet long and weighing 6,000 pounds, were placed atop the new Scottish Rite Temple at Eaton and Simonton streets in Key West to allow for another floor for the building. 

1976 – The owner of Key West’s Sandwich Deck restaurant sued the Monster Restaurant, Inc. for  “maintaining, assisting in maintaining, operating, or permitting the operation of a bar, restaurant and discotheque so as to constitute a nuisance.” The gist of the complaint was that the Monster was simply too loud.

1980 – An Air Florida flight from Key West to Miami was hijacked and taken to Havana. The plane and passengers returned unharmed to Miami.

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

Image: The Scottish Rite Temple at 535 Eaton Street, Key West, when it was under construction. Jeff Brodhead Collection, gift of Sharon Wells. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.