January 29
- Florida Keys History Center
- 21 hours ago
- 2 min read
1870 – Gonzalo Castañón, editor of the pro-Spanish, Havana newspaper Voz de Cuba, arrived in Key West intending to duel with his nemesis, Juan Maria Reyes, editor of the Key West Republicano, a paper that supported Cuba’s independence from Spain. Authorities intervened before the duel took place, but other Key West Cubans were upset by Castañón’s presence on the island. They confronted the Havana editor at his hotel, insults were hurled, and Castañón struck one of the Key West men. Shots then rang out, and multiple people were hit by bullets. Castañón was mortally wounded. His death increased tensions between Key West and Cuba.
1924 – Movie star Gloria Swanson arrived in Key West by train, enroute to Havana. She was able to visit her childhood home at the Army Barracks along White Street, where her father had been stationed. Swanson remembered that her first stage training was in Key West, when she appeared in several amateur plays.
1926 – Percy A. Cook was sales manager for the Tropical Isles Sales Corporation, a New Jersey company selling Florida Keys realty. Cook had a home on Cook’s Island, one of the Newfound Harbor Keys.
1941 – Rumors were spreading that some Key West men were not working so they could receive surplus food aid. The supervisor in charge of relief called the accusations ridiculous and said, “We do not receive enough surplus commodities for anyone to live on.” Nearly 1,000 Keys families were receiving welfare assistance.
1974 – The Navy declared 97 acres of Naval Station Key West and Trumbo Annex land to be in excess. Congressional approval was required before the land could be disposed of by the General Services Administration.
2016 – The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority began construction of a 3,200-foot well for the disposal of treated sewage, along with a shallower 1,200-foot monitoring well, at an old landfill on Cudjoe Key. The project followed months of debate with area residents over the appropriate and effective depth for the wells.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Captain Percy Cook, owner of Cook's Island, 1960s. Gift of Pat Parks. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
