August 3

Aerial view of Lower Matecumbe Key, ca. 1920.

1845 – Joseph C. Whalton was named Postmaster of Key West.

1909 – A.M. Goehring accepted the position as circulation manager for the Key West Morning Journal. The Journal has been growing steadily since it began publication.

1933 – A survey team led by H.B. Haskins, assistant superintendent of lighthouses, located and buoyed a spot on Cosgrove Shoals where a new lighthouse was proposed to be built.

1945 – The northern portion of Lower Matecumbe Key, comprising 352 acres, was sold for $56,250 to a development group through Marathon realtor W.A. Parrish. The southern portion of the key had been purchased a few weeks before for the same price, meaning that in the two transactions the entirety of Lower Matecumbe sold for $112,500.

1945 – The population of Monroe County was listed as 19,018 in the Florida State Census.

1958 – Camp Sawyer Boy Scout camp on West Summerland Key was dedicated and opened for activities.

1963 – The first city commission of the newly incorporated City of Stock Island was sworn into office at the Baptist Church on Stock Island.

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

Image: Aerial view of Lower Matecumbe Key, ca. 1920. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.