February 10

Key West High School 2100 Flagler Avenue, ca. 1960.

1925 – Major League Baseball Commissioner Kennesaw M. Landis visited Key West while traveling from Havana to Tampa. He was impressed with the island and said, “it would not be long before this city will be among the foremost tourist towns in the South.

1960 – Students at Key West High School were dismissed for the day after a phone caller warned a bomb was set go off there at 2 p.m. The building was combed by police, sheriff’s deputies, and Navy explosives experts, but nothing was found. At 3 p.m, a second bomb threat was made against the Junior High School.

1964 – Ground was broken for the 20-acre, million-dollar Searstown shopping center on North Roosevelt Boulevard in Key West.

1971 – The final 1970 Census figures for Key West showed a population of 29,312.

1975 – The interior of the Old Island Inn on Simonton Street was destroyed by fire. Ernest Hemingway had stayed in the building on his first visit to Key West.

1999 – Monroe County took ownership of Pat and Kelly’s Marina in Marathon. County officials promptly contracted with the Marathon Community Council to manage the property and begin improvements. 

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

Image: Key West High School 2100 Flagler Avenue, ca. 1960. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.