January 13

Indian Key Fill, ca. 1950.

1861 – During the night, U.S. Army Captain James M. Brannan, commanding Key West’s Barracks (at today’s Peary Court housing complex), marched his men to Fort Taylor and took charge of the stronghold. The action ensured that Key West would remain under Union control during the Civil War and provided the U.S. Navy with a secure base to blockade southern ports.

1926 – Mrs. Charles Taylor was crowned “Queen of Key West” at the opening night of the Ku Klux Klan circus. Miss Anna Johnson was chosen as runner-up.

1956 – Monroe County engineers presented plans for new amenities at Indian Key Fill to the commission. The planned improvements included four round, concrete bathhouses with showers, along with picnic tables and benches.

1958 – Former U.S. President Herbert Hoover arrived in Florida Keys for his mid-winter fishing trip.

1981 – The temperature at Key West dipped to 41 degrees, tying the record low. The same temperature had been recorded on the same date 95 years earlier.

1989 – U.S. President-elect George H.W. Bush landed at the Marathon airport, and he would spend a few days fishing at Islamorada.

1994 – In an attempt to stop construction of the Navy housing project at Peary Court, former Key West City Commissioner Harry Powell took over a construction trailer, with what he claimed was dynamite and a dead man’s switch strapped to his body. After a nine-hour stand-off, Powell was taken into custody and charged armed burglary and possession of a destructive device.

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

Image: Indian Key Fill, ca. 1950. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.