February 23
- Florida Keys History Center
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
1861 – Supplies and a detachment of 62 troops from the First U.S. Artillery were landed at Fort Taylor from the steamer Daniel Webster to reinforce Capt. John M. Brannan’s company. The Webster then steamed to the Dry Tortugas with additional men and six months of provisions for Fort Jefferson.
1926 – The Wayne P. Sewell Company of Atlanta staged a musical comedy called “The Flapper Grandmother” at the Garden Theater adjacent to the Key West Woman’s Club. Local talent was employed in the production.
1929 – J.L. Webster was arraigned before judge Marvin Thompson at Tavernier for attempting to hold up the Matecumbe ferry slip. Webster, who was drunk at the time of his arrest, entered a plea of not guilty, claiming a lapse of memory.
1940 - Dr. J.B. Parramore of the Monroe County Health Unit said that in the past three days, 689 county residents had been examined by X-ray for indications of tuberculosis.
1949 – Judge Aquilino Lopez, Jr. organized a Monroe County Grand Jury to look into gambling operations throughout the Florida Keys. “You have the right to investigate every offense that affects the morals, health, sanitation, and general welfare of this county,” he instructed them.
1956 – The Florida Bureau of Vital Statistics announced that the population of Monroe County had surpassed 50,000 people. Part of the reason for the increase was that county births had exceeded deaths by 5,034 since 1950.
1957 – Former President Harry Truman returned to Key West for the first time since leaving the White House. He spoke at the Casa Marina Hotel at a fundraiser for the Truman Presidential Library.
1974 – The Key West Towers and Gardens Apartments were purchased by a local partnership who changed the name to Key West By the Sea and converted the units to condominiums.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Fort Taylor, Key West, ca. 1865. Scott DeWolfe Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
