June 15

The U.S. Marine Hospital at Key West from the water, ca. 1880.

1850 – The officers of Gen. Narciso Lopez’ failed anti-Spanish expedition to Cuba, who had escaped to Key West on the steamer Creole, were taken from the island for trial in New Orleans under the charge of the U.S. Marshal.

1878 – Fowey Rocks Lighthouse was first lighted.

1887 – As yellow fever raged across Key West, local health officers and officials of the Marine Hospital Service discussed a plan to remove people who were not “acclimated” to the disease from the island city to another key.

1914 – J. Roland Adams founded Adams Dairy in Key West with a herd of 12 cows.

1942 – The Norwegian merchant ship Gunvor, on a voyage from Mobile to Trinidad with a general cargo, was sunk northwest of Key West when she accidentally sailed into the Navy’s defensive minefield.

1946 – Key West suffered 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 rigidly enforced.

1958 – Governor Leroy Collins and his wife Mary 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 John Spottswood and his wife Mary.

1986 – Monroe County Supervisor of Elections Robert L. “Bobby” Brown died at age 55. He had also served as Monroe County Sheriff from 1969 to 1977.

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

Image: The U.S. Marine Hospital at Key West from the water, ca. 1880. Ida Woodward Barron Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.