July 23

The USO/YMCA Building that stood at 530 Whitehead Street, along Southard, in Jackson Square, ca. 1950.

1925 – Four Key West children were named beneficiaries in the will of J.A. Wood, after he had drowned in the Miami River some weeks earlier. Wood was a recluse “eccentric in his habits,” who lived on a small houseboat and had purchased land on multiple islands of the Upper Keys. Wood left significant sums of money to the children.

1942 – The merchant vessel Onondaga was sunk off the north coast of Cuba by the German submarine U-129.

1946 – A Cuban International Airways plane arrived at Key West with a cargo of plantains, avocados, and other goods for local merchants. The company planned bi-weekly flights to deliver produce for the local market.

1950 - The USO/YMCA at the corner of Whitehead and Southard streets provided services and entertainment to the military men stationed in Key West.

1952 – Three people on Harris Avenue reported seeing a “flying saucer” to the east of Key West. The witnesses said it looked like a reddish-yellow ball.

1975 – Oil spilled from a vessel in the Florida Straits reached the Lower Keys with over 1500 barrels of “Bunker C” oil washed up on the beaches of Big Pine, Sugarloaf, and Boca Chica keys. The clean-up was expected to employ 70 men for at least 10 days.

1990 – The United States House of Representatives approved legislation to create the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

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

Image: The USO/YMCA Building that stood at 530 Whitehead Street, along Southard, in Jackson Square, ca. 1950. Jeff Brodhead Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.