August 15
- Florida Keys History Center
- Aug 14
- 2 min read
1850 – The ship Emily Taylor wrecked near the Sand Key Lightship, and the ship M. Honces wrecked nearby at Western Dry Rocks a short while later. Five wreckers assisted the Emily Taylor and three wreckers, assisted by the steamer Creole, aided the Honces. Both vessels and most of their cargo were saved, though the Honces required extensive repair.
1864 – Major-General Daniel P. Woodbury, commandant of the District of Key West and the Dry Tortugas, and who had earlier in his career overseen the construction of Fort Jefferson, as well as the Dry Tortugas Lighthouse on Loggerhead Key, died of yellow fever at Key West. He was 51 years old.
1924 – Contractor Paul Boysen swung a pick to break ground and begin the construction of the La Concha Hotel.
1952 – Key West Police Chief Bienvenido Perez claimed to be the last surviving man of the three who buried Elena Hoyos. Hoyos’ body had earlier been exhumed by an obsessed Karl Tanzler, who lived with her body for many years before being discovered. Perez said she was buried in an unmarked grave in the Key West Cemetery, and he would never reveal its location.
1968 – Rear Admiral Frederick J. Bush cut the ribbon for the first unit in the new Navy Poinciana Housing complex in Key West.
1972 – Mrs. Virginia Recupero, a Key West resident, became the first American to receive a nuclear-powered pacemaker in an operation at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Miami Beach.
1975 – After being tracked by law enforcement for four days, four Marathon men were arrested on the St. Lucie River near Stuart with over 10,000 pounds of marijuana onboard their two cabin cruisers. The haul, with a street value of $3 million, was the third largest in Florida history.
1978 – David Wolkowsky bought the Kress Building at 500 Duval Street in Key West from Norman Artman for $210,000.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Bienvenido G. Perez Key West Chief of Police 1946-1957. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
