June 5

Postcard of the Island City Bank at 209 Duval Street in Key West, ca. 1910.

1905 – The Island City Bank was organized in Key West, and the following officers were elected: George S. Waite, president; C.R. Pierce, vice president; and E.M. Martin, cashier. The board of directors were: T.A. Sweeting, J.M. Phipps, J.T. Sawyer, and Richard Peacon.

1926 – The alumni of Monroe County High School held a banquet for new graduates at the Coral Isle Casino on South Beach. County Schools Superintendent Melvin Russell served as Toastmaster, and the hit of the evening was a demonstration of the Charleston dance by Eliza Gardner and Chas. H. Ketchum.

1927 – The new Overseas Highway running from Key West to Big Pine Key was opened for traffic. An estimated 1,000 cars with 4,000 passengers made the round trip from end to end.

1946 – Prices for Plantation Key real estate were considered to be at “boom” levels after 214 acres of unimproved ground on the island sold for $69,800.

1953 – A waterspout ran through Key West, overturning a Martin P5M seaplane at the Trumbo Point Naval Air Station, smashing 16 windows at Key West High School on White Street, and splitting in half a 2-foot-thick tree on Johnson Street.

1989 – The Key West Citizen switched from being an afternoon newspaper and issued its first morning edition.

2001 – Key West City Commissioners approved a $2.5 million fund for the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust to purchase and renovate six properties to provide affordable housing for qualified renters and homeowners in the island’s historically Black neighborhoods.

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

Image: Postcard of the Island City Bank at 209 Duval Street in Key West, ca. 1910. From the collection of Christopher C. Belland. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.