August 28

A photo of a watercolor painting of the Sand Key Army Hospital and cemetery at the Dry Tortugas, 1864.

1864 – A soldier stationed at Fort Jefferson wrote of the burial of his comrade Henry Wilson: “His body was put on a skiff at the wharf then a salute of eight guns at once, three times. I then by request was permitted to attend the body with those who went to inter it. It is on an island about 2 miles north of this fort & is called Sand Key.”

1938 – Edward “Coto” Garcia of Key West was selected to sing at the New York World’s Fair of 1939.

1941 – Acting on instructions from the Monroe County Commission, appraisers of the Southernmost Realty board completed their study of property at Marathon as a site for a $234,000 Civil Aeronautics Administration airport: They determined that the 323-acre tract was worth $18,947.39.

1963 – Rear Admiral L.J. Kirn, Commander of Naval Station Key West, reported the Navy population numbered 21,000, including military and dependents. In addition, the military employed 1,860 civilian workers.

1966 – The Florida Keys Junior College held a “ground building” ceremony at its new 125-acre submerged lands site along Stock Island. The occasion marked the filling of a 40-acre tract for the new FKJC campus.

---

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

Image: A photo of a watercolor painting of the Sand Key Army Hospital and cemetery at the Dry Tortugas, 1864. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.