1857 – The U.S. transport schooner Delaware arrived at Key West from Philadelphia with materials for the construction of a lighthouse at Sombrero Key.
1906 – Dynamite blasts along the shore in Key West Harbor caused the large cistern at Consumers Ice Plant to crack. It was feared that if the nearshore blasting continued, all the cisterns in the area would be ruined.
1912 – President William H. Taft arrived in Key West via train. After touring the city and attending a luncheon in his honor, he sailed on a Navy ship to Panama to inspect the construction of the Panama Canal, then in progress.
1953 – Key West Police Chief Joseph Kemp announced that he was retiring after nearly 30 years on the force.
1993 – Alfred Rahming became Key West Fire Department’s first Black fire captain. Rahming had started with the department in 1974.
2014 – The cellphone-based ride-share company Uber began offering service in the Florida Keys. Local licensed taxi drivers feared a wave of “gypsy” drivers would soon arrive and force them out of business.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: President William H. Taft (just left of center) and party in Key West on December 21, 1912. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.