June 3

An aerial view of the south end of Simonton Street, with Sands Beach Club, early 1980s

1897 – The alleged filibuster ship Dauntless, with 33 men onboard, was seized at sea and brought to Key West by the U.S. cruiser Marblehead. It was thought the Dauntless was attempting to illegally smuggle supplies to anti-Spanish rebels in Cuba, and the Marblehead’s officers saw the crew throwing packages over when they approached.

1908 – Governor Napoleon B. Broward appointed W.F. Maloney Key West Supervisor of Registration in place of the late G.L. Lowe.

1926 – A Coroner’s Jury empaneled at Key West returned a verdict of first-degree murder against E.R. Bodine of Cudjoe Key for killing a man. Bodine and his victim had had an altercation weeks earlier, and when the man stopped at Cudjoe again on the train, Bodine got his gun and shot him five times.

1951 – The new Scottish Rite Temple at the corner of Simonton and Eaton streets was dedicated by Clyde Johnson, Deputy of the Supreme Council of Florida.

1976 – In a ceremony in Washington, Mel Fisher presented Queen Sofia of Spain with a bronze cannon recovered from the Spanish Galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, sunk near Key West in 1622.

1983 – The $3.9 million sale of Key West’s Sands Beach Club to New York developer Austin Laber was completed. Laber revealed that he planned to demolish the three-year-old waterfront complex and build the Reach Hotel.

1990 – Monroe County Sheriff Allison DeFoor was chosen by Florida Governor Bob Martinez to be his running mate in his bid for reelection.

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

Image: An aerial view of the south end of Simonton Street, with Sands Beach Club, early 1980s. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.