July 25
- Florida Keys History Center
- 7 hours ago
- 2 min read
1863 – In a ceremony at Clinton Place in Key West, the local citizenry presented a $750 gold sword to Colonel Tilghman H. Good, Commander of the 47th Pennsylvania Regiment. Col. Good had rescinded an order that would have banished nearly 600 Key Westers suspected to be Confederate sympathizers to Charleston.
1936 – Flotsam from the British motorship Nunoca was found at Duck Key, Conch Key, and Key Largo. Nunoca had left Grand Cayman 20 days earlier, bound for Tampa, but disappeared. Some of the pieces bore marks of fire and signs of violent shock, suggesting the missing vessel might have exploded.
1949 – Lt. Ray Edward Demeritt of Key West, killed in action when his plane was shot down over France on June 23, 1944, was buried in the United States Military Cemetery at Neuville-en-Condroz, nine miles southwest of Liege, Belgium.
1976 – Some 30 pilot whales beached themselves at Loggerhead Key in the Dry Tortugas. The five Coast Guardsmen stationed on the island sprayed the whales with water to keep them alive until more help could arrive.
1983 – Ground-breaking ceremonies were held for the Big Pine Shopping Center, which would be anchored by a Winn-Dixie supermarket, off Key Deer Boulevard on Big Pine Key.
1986 – Monroe County Commissioners voted to open the county’s three landfill sites once a month with no disposal fees. The move was prompted by the increased dumping of garbage and junk in empty lots throughout the Keys.
1997 – Carol MacLaren drew an envelope with the word “yes” to become the City of Layton’s third mayor. MacLaren and Hal Halenza each received 45 votes in the runoff election and in accordance with Florida law they were required draw lots to determine the winner.
2016 – The Monroe County Commission and Sheriff Rick Ramsay agreed to begin an aggressive campaign to crack down on graffiti in the Florida Keys. The plan would allow deputies to paint over graffiti on private property if the owners did not do so in a timely manner.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Aerial view of the Long Key dump and landfill. Photo taken by the federal government on October 7, 1987. From the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.