December 11
- Florida Keys History Center
- 13 minutes ago
- 2 min read
1901 – The case of the schooner Cactus, which wrecked on Coffins Patch, was heard in federal court. The vessel sailing from Philadelphia to Key West with a cargo of coal was saved. The salvors were awarded a fee of $5,993.
1940 – Even though the United States would not enter World War II for another year, the war came close to Key West when the British Navy sank the German merchant ship Rhein about 45 miles west of the Dry Tortugas.
1960 – A 30-foot Havana-registered cruiser named the Gloria Mar was found adrift 65 miles west of Key West carrying a supply of arms and ammunition but with no one on board.
1975 – CBS News was reportedly looking for the body of missing former Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, who mysteriously disappeared on July 29. An informant had told CBS that Hoffa’s body “was encased in concrete, lying on the ocean floor in 12 feet of water two and half miles off Key West.” Nothing was found.
2000 – After a two-year overhaul, the WWII-era patrol torpedo boat PT-728 was launched at Stock Island. The historic vessel would be berthed in Key West Bight and available for passenger tours.
2015 – A federal jury in Miami found former Monroe County resident Fred “Dave” Clark guilty of defrauding investors in what the government alleged was a $300 million Ponzi scheme. Clark’s Cay Clubs Resorts and Marinas took money from 1,400 investors for real estate ventures in the Keys and elsewhere.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: PT Boat 728 in Key West Bight. Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
