July 16

The Church of God at 905 Grinnell Street in Key West, ca. 1960.

1880 – The American Shoals Lighthouse was first lighted.

1925 – Tampa Mayor Perry Wall arrived in Key West on a 26-foot sloop while on a return passage from Havana. Wall, accompanied by his son and a friend, had also been in Key West a few days earlier on his outbound voyage.

1935 – Cooking classes offered by the Florida Emergency Relief Administration were proving popular with the women of Key West. An electric refrigerator and gas stove had been donated to the class, allowing “the preparation of food and meal planning as they should be done in the present time.”  

1956 – The Church of God at 905 Grinnell Street in Key West celebrated the arrival of their new pastor, the Reverend G.W. Fletcher Philips.

1970 – The Key West Housing Authority celebrated the groundbreaking for a new 200-unit senior citizen high-rise on Kennedy Drive.

2015 – Key West Commissioner Teri Johnston announced that she would not seek re-election for her District 5 seat. She did note that she was weighing her options when it came to running for the mayor’s office or a Key West-based county commission seat, both of which would be open in 2016.

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

Image: The Church of God at 905 Grinnell Street in Key West, ca. 1960. Jeff Brodhead Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.