February 17
- Florida Keys History Center
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
1885 – The 1885 Florida State Census showed Key West had a population of 13,558. The birthplaces of 4,871 were listed as Florida, 4,410 were born in Cuba and 3,260 were born in the Bahamas.
1935 – The Key West Aquarium was formally opened with a dedication ceremony attended by more than 500 celebrants. Speakers were Julius Stone, head of the Federal Emergency Relief Agency at Key West, Dr. Robert O. Van Deusen, superintendent of the Philadelphia Aquarium, and Key West Mayor W.H. Malone.
1943 – The United States Marine Hospital, Key West, was closed. The hospital had been established in 1848 to treat members of the U.S. Merchant Marines. It served as a Navy Hospital during the Civil War, and in 1898 the wounded from the Battleship Maine were treated there. Many Key Westers had also utilized the facility, which was staffed by the U.S. Public Health Service.
1956 – Pioneering Key West merchant Jacob P. Markowitz died at the age of 97. Markowitz came to the island in 1890, and he first sold goods door-to-door. Markowitz then operated a grocery on Division Street (now Truman Avenue), until the store was destroyed by the 1919 hurricane. He opened another grocery on
Center Street and ran it until old age forced him to retire.
1956 – A nighttime street dance was held at Clinton Place in connection with the Key West Artists’ Group Street Fair. Music for the event was provided by the Danny Acosta Band.
1960 – The formal grand opening of Bevis-Lewis Chevrolet was held in Key West. The all-in-one sales and service center for new and used cars was located at 3500 North Roosevelt Boulevard.
1961 – Mrs. Perce C. Sawyer was postmistress of the smallest post office in the United States – a small, converted, tile-lined executive bathroom that served Duck Key, its resort, and the Indies House hotel. Sawyer’s nickname was “Mrs. Five-by-Five,” and her office door was only 2 feet wide.
1975 – Gus Bell, fishing with Captain Bob West, caught a new world-record tarpon that weighed 243 pounds.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West's Bevis-Lewis Chevrolet service staff, ca. 1965. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
