January 21
- Florida Keys History Center
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
1880 – Former U.S. President and Civil War hero Ulysses S. Grant visited Key West and was the guest of honor at a dinner at the Jefferson Hotel.
1912 – Florida East Coast Railroad Engine 201 arrived in Key West at 2:45 a.m. This was the first engine and crew to cross the Bahia Honda bridge and test the tracks in the Lower Keys. The train was under the charge of Engineers J.F. Norton and Edward Goehring, Conductor Mike Scanlon, Pilot William Nichols and Fireman Jack Basskopp.
1936 – A crew from the Works Progress Administration’s Motion Pictures Division arrived in Key West to film around the island. Many of the movies they shot were to be made with sound.
1954 – The new Key West-to-Cuba auto ferry, named The City of Havana, made its first run to Havana carrying passengers only. The ship was limited to passengers until its new dock on Stock Island was completed.
1956 – Florida State Senator Wm. Neblett was calling on Keys residents to provide old maps of the Dry Tortugas. Two small islets, both known as “Sand Key,” were once visible but had since submerged; their existence needed to be proved to help the state to retain control of the area.
1987 – Benildes Remond Sanchez celebrated 50 years of teaching in Key West. She had arrived on the island from Cuba in 1937 to teach Spanish at the San Carlos.
1998 – Judge Steven P. Shea allowed the village of Islamorada to proceed with incorporation. The village had been approved by voters in the November election two months earlier but was delayed by changes in the wording of the referendum.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: A photo of an 1864 watercolor painting of Sand Key at the Dry Tortugas, showing the hospital and cemetery there. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
