February 2

An aerial view of Fort Taylor, Key West, ca. 2000.

1908 – The schooner Magic, a former America’s Cup race winner, was raised and towed into Key West harbor by owner John Lowe. The valuable schooner had sunk near Sand Key the day before.

1931 – Pauline Hemingway caught a sailfish near Key West that measured seven feet and one inch to set a record for the season.

1960 – The United States Department of Agriculture had inspectors searching for wild cotton in the Keys. All plants were destroyed to prevent the spread of pink bollworm.

1961 – Key West City Commissioners were quickly rewriting zoning laws to prevent the rumored sale of the Casa Marina Hotel to an unnamed “Negro university.” It was also said that Casa Marina owner Max Marmorstein was entertaining an alternate $450,000 offer from the Teamsters Union for the property.

1970 – Guy Lombardo and his orchestra were the featured entertainers at the dedication of the new Indies Inn Convention Hall on Duck Key.

1972 – John M. Spottswood sold Munson Island to Country Johnston of Valdosta, Georgia, for $150,000.

2006 – The Friends of Fort Taylor launched a membership drive to call attention to the plight of the aging 19th century Key West fortification, which had suffered considerable damage months earlier during Hurricane Wilma.

2016 – A Cuban man landed at the shore of the Navy’s Truman Annex in Key West after crossing the Florida Straits in 12 hours on a windsurfing board. It was the fourth such crossing in two years.

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

Image: An aerial view of Fort Taylor, Key West, ca. 2000. U.S. Navy photo. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.