July 3

Miguel Garcia and wife Nettie, with Jorge Bethart, on July 4, 1957, after Miguel water skied from Cuba to Key West.

1823 – Monroe County, the sixth county in Florida, was established by an act of the territorial legislature and signed by Governor William P. Duval. The new county encompassed all of South Florida below a line running from Charlotte Harbor to Lake Okeechobee to Hillsboro Inlet.

1904 – Mrs. Clarence K. Till, widow of Officer Till, was presented with a deed to a house and lot bought by the citizens of Key West. Key West Police Office Till was killed in the line of duty.

1954 –  The manager of the Key West Chamber of Commerce announced that for the first time Key West had an advertisement on a nationwide radio program. The spot was in the show “Florida Calling” on the Mutual network. The spot was on five days a week for two months and cost $1,000.

1957 – Miguel Garcia became the first person to water ski from Havana to Key West, accomplishing the feat in four hours and 15 minutes and using one ski. Garcia was backed by the Cuban National Sports Commission and the Key West Chamber of Commerce, which held a reception for him after his landing.

1958 – Seven men were bound over for trial in Criminal Court at Islamorada after they were arrested at Pelican Cove in Windley Key for possessing spearfishing equipment in a prohibited area. Spearfishing was prohibited from Greyhound Key (Fiesta Key) northward to the Monroe-Dade county line.

1976 – The Key West Comparsa performed in the “Florida on Parade” Bicentennial festivities in St. Augustine.

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

Image: Miguel Garcia and wife Nettie, with Jorge Bethart, on July 4, 1957, after Miguel water skied from Cuba to Key West. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.