June 18

Hotel La Concha at 430 Duval Street in Key West, ca. 1930.

1888 – Colonel Henry A. Crane died at age 75. He was born in New Jersey but later came to Florida, where he fought in the Seminole War. During the Civil War he first served in the Union Navy, then in the Army. After the war he settled in Key West and published the newspaper “The Key of the Gulf.” He also served as Clerk of Court for Monroe County and represented the county in the Florida House and Senate.

1924 – A contest to name the new hotel being built at the corner of Duval and Fleming streets in Key West was drawing many entries. Some of the suggestions: Hotel Aubuchon, The Miramar, Trail’s End, Juan Salas, La Concha, Hotel Mariposa, The Palms Inn, La Mascota, and the Dolphin.

1946 – Shortly after the Key West Fire Department spent several weeks cleaning up a “boat graveyard” along the island’s North Beach, more derelict vessels were being abandoned there, replacing those that had been removed.

1967 – Baseball great Ted Williams won the five-day Islamorada Gold Cup Tarpon Tournament and was named grand champion.

1979 – Dr. William Seeker was named president of the Florida Keys Community College.

2011 – A new law went into effect in the City of Key West requiring all street performers to have a minimum of $300,000 in liability insurance.

---

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

Image: Hotel La Concha at 430 Duval Street in Key West, ca. 1930. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.