August 17

Glynn Archer Elementary School on White Street taken February 26, 2006. Key West City Hall since 2017.

1861 – Major William French, U.S. Army commander at Key West, expelled a Methodist preacher from the island for openly espousing secessionist doctrine from the pulpit.

1865 – The steamer Tonawanda stopped at Key West for coal after picking up the 110th New York Infantry Regiment at Fort Jefferson for their transport home, and many of the men went ashore for a good time. “Some of the lads got mighty drunk. The Col. was busy all day trying to keep peace among them,” wrote a diarist.

1936 – The 265th Regiment, Coastal Artillery Florida National Guard arrived at Key West from Tampa on the steamship Florida for a two-week training camp at Fort Taylor.

1958 – Jeff Gautier, “a young, energetic newcomer to the Upper Keys,” was named chief of the newly reorganized Key Largo Fire Department.

1958 – Dr. J.G. Youngblood, formerly of Miami, was intending to become Marathon’s first dentist, and he was looking for office space in the fast-growing community.

1964 – Dr. Wheelock A. Bison, a Key West native, was presented with Florida A & M University’s Meritorious Achievement Award. Dr. Bison had become a prominent physician and surgeon in Memphis.

1981 – Tropical Storm Dennis stalled over South Florida, dumping 3.88 inches of rain on Key West.

2010 – The Key West City Commission voted 5-2 to include a referendum on the November ballot asking voters whether the city should acquire the Glynn Archer school building for use as a City Hall.

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

Image: Glynn Archer Elementary School on White Street taken February 26, 2006. Key West City Hall since 2017. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.