June 19

The Key West Salt Ponds, 1996.

1865 – The bark Adventure arrived in Key West in distress. Four of her crew were sick with yellow fever and sent to the Marine Hospital for treatment. The fever spread to the Army troops on the island and began an epidemic that caused 331 cases with 71 deaths among the troops and an unknown number of cases among the civilian population.

1942 – The steamship Bosilijka, sailing from New Orleans to Key West, was sunk when it accidentally sailed into the Navy’s minefield northwest of Key West.

1946 – The Duval Street USO cancelled a dance at their 1021 Duval Street facility due to a growing polio epidemic at Key West. There were 23 cases of the disease on the island with new ones reported daily, and large public gatherings were strongly discouraged.

1974 – Key West resident Dick Duane was presented a Clio award for advertising for his creative role in the commercial “Actives Are Here,” a Burlington Mills product.

1976 – Long-distance swimmer Walter Poenisch left Key West for Miami in what he dubbed a “Bicentennial Swim.” Poenisch would cover 122 miles over the next two days in what was then the longest human swim, but he was forced to abandon the effort after his red-white-and-blue shark cage began to fall apart.

1983 – Author, ex-POW, navigator, and lector Tristan Jones took residence in Key West to work on his latest novel.

2001 – The City of Key West banned commercial kayaking tours in the island’s Salt Ponds.

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

Image: The Key West Salt Ponds, 1996. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.