December 5

The charter boat Sea Raider at Craig Docks along Trumbo Road, ca. 1945.

1859 – In the Key West city elections, Mayor John P. Baldwin was re-elected and James C. Clapp, John Curry, Richard M. Kemp and Henry Mulrennan were elected to the board of aldermen.

1925 – A representative for the Key West Foundation Co. announced that 20 houses were being built on North Avenue E in the Meacham tract. Reservations were also being made for lots, with 149 accepted on this date. 

1938 – Key West’s charter boat fishing fleet moved to new quarters at the concrete dock along Trumbo Road. Six boats were at their new berths.

1953 – The first annual Upper Keys Lime Festival got underway on the Indian Key Fill with a memorial service honoring the pioneers of the Keys.

1955 – The Key West Christmas season opened when the Chamber of Commerce lit a Nativity Scene at the intersection of Eaton and Duval streets. In previous years, the scene had been on the courthouse lawn, but it was thought more people would see it at the new location.

1968 – Earl J. (Pete) Toomer of Key West was elected president of the Florida Shrimp Association.

1976 – Victor R. Shavers, Key West native and a graduate of Douglass High School’s class of 1956, was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in a ceremony in Washington, DC.

2000 – Researchers with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary said coral coverage along the Florida Reef tract had declined 38 percent since 1996. Multiple factors, including disease, bleaching, and poor water quality were listed as causes of the decline.

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

Image: The charter boat Sea Raider at Craig Docks along Trumbo Road, ca. 1945. Gift of Jerry & Sue Walters. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.