July 10
- Florida Keys History Center
- Jul 9
- 2 min read
1887 – Yellow fever was on the increase at Key West, with five new cases and two deaths. In the latest outbreak there had been 83 cases and 27 deaths to date, with 23 discharged as cured; 33 were still sick.
1924 – “La Concha” was chosen as the name for the new hotel at the corner of Duval and Fleming streets in Key West. Mr. G.L. Miller of the Miller Bonding Company, sponsor of the contest to name the building, made the decision and awarded a $100 bond to Louis T. Bragassa, Deputy Collector of Customs at Key West, for submitting the winning moniker.
1946 – The Monroe County Commission approved a $2,500 provisional fund for the advertising of the Keys to attract tourists. The money would only be spent if the City of Key West and the Overseas Bridge Commission agreed to set aside similar sums for the same purpose.
1948 – Commissioned Gunner Leonard Stanley Allen, Royal Navy, who was killed in an accident on the British ship HMS Crossbow, was buried in the Key West City Cemetery. A crowd of about 2,000 attended the graveside services conducted by Father James MacConnell of St. Paul’s Church.
1953 – Captain Shirley Garson of the bottom fishing charter boat Storm King out of Key West brought in an 11-foot shark.
1956 – The Monroe County School District had hired 70 new teachers for the upcoming school year, but with a shortage of housing in the area, the Chamber of Commerce put out a call for any available apartments, houses, or rooms to accommodate the new instructors.
1993 – A barracuda leaped into a boat off Islamorada, knocking a 46-year-old Tampa woman to the deck and then biting her. The woman was rushed to Mariners Hospital in Key Largo and received over 200 stitches to close her wounds.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Teachers Shirley M. Alson (L) and Barbara Curry (R) at Key West's Douglass High School on September 14, 1957. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
