January 10
- Florida Keys History Center
- 12 minutes ago
- 2 min read
1855 – Florida Governor J.E. Broome signed a law that made it illegal for any free Black person who arrived at Key West by ship to leave the dock. If they did, they faced arrest, and the master of the vessel was liable for any fines or costs of their punishment.
1920 – The Consolidated Cigar Company’s factory at the corner of Catherine and Grinnell streets in Key West was reopened after undergoing repairs for damage suffered during the 1919 hurricane.
1926 – Charles L. Ort of Ort Realty in Miami was meeting with Charles H. Ketchum, the company’s local representative, about their development known as “Key Largo City.” Ort claimed he was spending $20 million to create one of the finest developments in the country: an exclusive city with beautiful streets, boulevards, hotels, golf courses, and tennis courts.
1956 – The Treasury Department extended the limits of the Port of Key West to include all of Stock Island. The change was prompted by a new auto ferry to Cuba being berthed at Stock Island, as well as multiple shrimp boats that fished in Mexican waters.
1956 – Joe Sirugo, doing business as the Laird Realty Co., purchased 30-acre Cow Key, adjacent to Stock Island, from Jessie Porter Newton for $60,000.
1957 – Former President Herbert Hoover came to Key West aboard the 98-foot yacht Genie. An annual visitor to the Key Largo Anglers Club, Hoover and his party decided to try fishing in Marathon and Key West.
1958 – Baseball great Ted Williams filed a declaration of domicile with the Monroe County Clerk of Court listing his address as Islamorada.
1970 – Long Key State Park opened.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The old Hirsch and Consolidated cigar factory building at 930 Catherine Street in Key West when it was in use as a Pabst Beer distributorship, ca. 1950. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
