February 26
- Florida Keys History Center
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
1852 – The Right Reverend Bishop Francis X. Gartland dedicated St. Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Church on Duval Street. The first sermon was preached by Father Huninq, a Belgian priest.
1953 – The Goodyear Supply Store was under construction at the corner of Duval and Olivia streets in Key West by Larry Dion. The store would open in April.
1960 – Teamsters Union President Jimmy Hoffa was in Key West inspecting property that had been offered as security for a business loan from the union.
1962 – Astronaut John Glenn left Key West to join President Kennedy at Palm Beach. Glenn had spent a quiet weekend with his family at the Key West Naval Base so he could rest and undergo medical evaluation after his successful orbit around earth. Glenn was the first American to make such a flight.
1977 – The new Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses was dedicated at 1117 White Street in Key West.
1986 – The Key West City Commission rescinded a purchase and development agreement with the Key West Harbor Development Corporation for the Truman Annex property. In the deal, the city would have purchased the 43-acres with KWHD money and then granted the corporation a 99-year lease on the property.
1994 – The Sheriff’s Department moved jail inmates from the old county jail on Fleming Street to the new facility on Stock Island. The move ended the forced prisoner releases caused by overcrowding at the old jail.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Key West City Commissioners with a sign for General John Glenn Street in 1962, when they intended to rename South Street in honor of the astronaut's orbit of the earth and his visit to Key West. The name change was never approved. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
