February 24
- Florida Keys History Center
- Feb 24
- 2 min read
1890 – Workmen installed seats in the new Baptist Church on Eaton Street. The original church was destroyed by the Great Fire of 1886.
1905 – The new Havana-American Cigar Company factory on County Road (now Flagler Avenue) near Second Street was completed at a cost of $40,000. It employed 700 cigarmakers.
1935 – A costume ball was held at the Cuban Club to conclude Key West’s week-long “La Semana Alegre” program.
1937 – Construction of the José Martí Monument in Bayview Park began when Raoul A. Pizer y Pollo, representing the government of Cuba, presented the structure’s cornerstone to Key West Mayor Harry C. Galey.
1940 – William W. Demeritt received a commission as a Commander in the Coast Guard. He had been Superintendent of the Seventh Lighthouse District for 26 years. With the transfer of the lighthouses to the Coast Guard his job was abolished, and he was assigned to the Coast Guard District headquarters in Jacksonville.
1951 – Mayor of Havana Nicolas Castellanos and his wife arrived for a visit to Key West via Aerovias Q. airlines.
1956 – Christine McGuire of the popular McGuire Sisters singing trio was a special guest at the Key West Kennel Club, and she presented the trophy for the winning dog in the feature race.
1961 – The Key West chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police was organized with Lt. Armando Perez, president; Detective Ralph Maribona, Jr., vice-president; Sgt. Fred Caso, treasurer; Officer Vincent Catala, secretary; Cpl. Harry Sawyer, guard; Lt. Buster Cerezo, conductor.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West Mayor C.B. Harvey, Police Chief Louis Eisner, and others at a remembrance ceremony at the Jose Marti Monument in Bayview Park, ca. 1960. Jeff Brodhead Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
