June 15

1878 – Fowey Rocks Lighthouse was first lighted.

1916 – A Tampa newspaper correspondent reported, “The Key West Athletic building is becoming more popular every day. Every afternoon large crowds are seated in its cool porches enjoying the delightful sea breezes for which this city is famous.”

1926 – Two Coast Guard vessels seized a rumrunning boat and 200 packages of liquor at the entrance to Boca Chica Channel. Three men were arrested for smuggling, but one of them jumped overboard near Key West and escaped.

1946 – Key West was suffering a polio epidemic, with 20 cases and two deaths reported. Eleven of the patients were in Jackson Memorial hospital in Miami, and the remainder in the Key West Naval Hospital. Restrictions barring children under 16 from theaters, beaches and other public places were being strictly enforced.

1953 – Author Ernest Hemingway visited his old Key West house and went on a two-hour outing around the town, where he saw old friends and tried to get into Sloppy Joe’s, which was closed. Hemingway also lamented the changes to the island that had occurred since he had moved away.

1958 – Florida Governor and Mrs. Leroy Collins were in Key West visiting their son Leroy Jr., who was stationed on a submarine at the Naval Station. They toured the Naval Station and were guests at a reception at the home of Sheriff and Mrs. John Spottswood.

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

Image: The Key West Athletic Club at the end of Duval Street, from the water, ca. 1900-1935. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.