January 6

The abandoned Clark Estate in Marathon.

1861 – U.S. Army Captain Montgomery C. Meigs reported to headquarters that he had installed a drawbridge and gate to Fort Taylor, both of which were closed every night. He also reported that all the military guns were safe within the Fort.

1912 – The R. Fernandez Havana Cigar Factory was destroyed by fire. The company moved its operation to a building on Simonton Street that had been occupied by J.M. Navarro.

1923 – J.F. Uhrbach, collector of internal revenue, reported that 49,396,675 cigars were manufactured in Key West in 1922.

1951 – The crew of the 20th-Century-Fox movie “The Frogmen” arrived in Key West. Actors Dana Andrews, Richard Widmark, and Gary Merrill starred in the film.

1951 – The Key West Utility board voted to award to the J.F. Pritchard Company a multimillion-dollar construction contract of a steam-powered electrical plant on Grinnell Street near the Key West Bight.

1976 – Monroe County commissioners voted to demolish the long-abandoned and “haunted” Clark mansion in Marathon. The once-palatial waterfront home had been vacant since the owner was found floating dead in an adjacent lagoon over 20 years earlier. In more recent times the structure had been occupied by transient squatters.

1998 – A 50-foot commercial fishing boat went aground on Rock Key Reef near Sand Key and caused considerable damage to the reef. The boat then sank outside the Stock Island Marina as it was being towed in for repairs.

2016 – After four years of trying, developers of a proposed 30-acre commercial center to include a Wal-Mart store on Rockland Key had yet to obtain the necessary permits, solidify development agreements, or close on the purchase of the property.

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

Image: The abandoned Clark Estate in Marathon. Photo from Erma Stout's scrapbook. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.