December 4

Eduardo H. Gato.

1864 – U.S. Navy Admiral David Farragut arrived in Key West, and he was given a salute of 13 guns and the “best dinner” the island could offer.

1926 – Eduardo H. Gato, Key West’s leading cigar manufacturer, died in Havana. He was born in Cuba in 1847 and came to Key West in 1874. His factory employed more than 500 workers. His last factory on Simonton Street still stands and is now used for Monroe County government offices.

1945 – The captured German submarine U- 505 was open for public tours at Key West to anyone who had purchased a war bond in the Victory Loan Campaign.

1960 – The U.S. Postmaster General authorized the construction of a new post office at Tavernier. The modern facility, on the west side of U.S.1 between Jo-Jean Way and Dickie Way, would have nearly 2,000-square-feet of floor space.

1969 – Sam Golan died at the age of 70. In the 1950’s he built the Key Ambassador Motel and later with Charles Little built the Holiday Day Inn.

1985 – A federal grand jury in Miami issued a 332-count indictment against the Ocean Reef Club, along with some of the officers and staff of the exclusive North Key Largo community, for dumping raw sewage into the Atlantic Ocean.

2000 – The Monroe County Tourist Development Council agreed to earmark 30 percent of its budget – or $4.4 million – for capital projects in the Florida Keys and to shift advertising funding away from “day-tripper” events that caused traffic congestion throughout the island chain.

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

Image: Eduardo H. Gato. Gato came to Key West from Cuba (via New York) and by the mid-1870s, he was on his way to becoming the island’s most successful cigar manufacturer. Key West Equator-Democrat Trade Edition, March 1889. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.