June 13

Ferry Terminal at the Key West Bight on June 9, 2006.

1844 – A fire broke out in the home of Mrs. Hall in the northeast portion of the city of Key West. The wooden house was quickly engulfed in flames and threatened the whole town with flying cinders. Residents climbed onto nearby roofs with buckets of water and extinguished any sparks that fell.

1926 – There were only nine prisoners being held in the Monroe County Jail, well below the average of 25-30. Among them was a man held for murder, a “crazy alien” waiting for immigration authorities, and a mentally ill islander who sang “Nearer My God to Thee” all day long as she awaited transfer to a hospital in Chattahoochee.

1930 – The 27th annual convention of the Florida State Pharmaceutical Association opened at the San Carlos theater with 135 members present.

1959 – Key West High School baseball star Boog Powell signed a contract to play professional baseball for the Baltimore Orioles.

1993 – The U.S. Navy Hydrofoil Squadron sailed from Key West for the last time.

1995 – The fifth branch of the Monroe County Library System opened with a ribbon cutting at the Big Pine Key Library branch.

2001 – Key West Bight officials agreed to cancel an agreement with the Argentinian Buquebus company for the construction a ferry terminal. Under the deal, the city would take over the facility and complete the building at a cost of $1 million, plus pay contractors more than $300,000 owed them by Buquebus.

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

Image: Ferry Terminal at the Key West Bight on June 9, 2006. Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.