June 6
- Florida Keys History Center
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
1863 – Since the blockade of the Confederate coast had been established in 1861, 166 blockade runners had been captured and processed through the Admiralty Court at Key West: 16 steamers, four barks, 114 schooners, 20 sloops, and four cargos attached to no vessel.
1925 – Two men died and another injured when the boiler of the “Pineapple Express” exploded while the train was crossing the Seven Mile Bridge north of Pigeon Key. Engineer H.H. Rosenquist and Fireman Oscar Crawford were killed instantly in the explosion, and Brakeman R.L. Ball was badly scalded. The engine and cab were thrown into the water.
1943 – Memorial services were held at the Fleming Street Methodist Church for Frank L. Spencer, the first Key West inductee to die in World War II. Spencer had been killed in North Africa on April 23.
1946 – In an address to the Key West Rotary Club, Dr. J.B. Parramore said there were four confirmed cases of polio on the island, with two more suspected. Later in the evening, a six-year-old child died of the disease, the second local infantile paralysis fatality in just a few days.
1953 – Work began on the $2 million sewer service expansion project that would give Key West one of the most modern sewer systems in the nation.
1992 – Key West’s El Salvador United Methodist Church disbanded after 115 years.
2011 – “Tom Hambright Appreciation Week” was declared in Key West as the beloved Keys historian celebrated 25 years with the Monroe County Public Library.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: El Salvador Methodist Church, 1011 Virginia St., ca. 1965. Tract 13, Sqr 3, Lot 13 & Pt Lot 11. Photo taken by the Monroe County Property Appraiser's office. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
