March 3
- Florida Keys History Center
- Mar 3
- 2 min read
1849 – Diarist David H. Mordecai visited Key West and wrote of the island, “We strolled along the different places and found in almost every place men as drunk as they could be. The population is composed of but few really respectable persons.”
1903 – A telegraph cable was run to Sand Key for the use of the island’s U.S. Weather Station.
1911 – Monroe County started construction on two poor houses at the rear of Windsor Lane.
1917 – Carl G. Fisher of Indianapolis won the Express Cruiser Speedboat Race from Miami to Key West. His boat, the Shadow II, took six hours and 17 minutes to cover the 161 miles. Five boats started the race but only two finished.
1946 – The Walter R. Mickens Post No. 6021 of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, under commander Alphonso Dean, received its charter.
1961 – A crowded, tumultuous, meeting of the Board of Directors of the San Carlos Institute resulted in a formal break in relations between the Institute and the government of Fidel Castro’s Cuba.
1976 – The Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority told Monroe County commissioners that water reserves were the lowest ever, with no relief in sight, and a county-wide building moratorium should be instituted. They also urged that private homes be allowed to build cisterns and dig wells to alleviate the situation.
2006 – The newly organized Gay and Lesbian Museum and Archive of Key West was seeking historical memorabilia from the community for exhibits to be placed in the Gay and Lesbian Community Center on Truman Avenue in Key West.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Dance at the American Legion Post 168 & VFW Post 6021, 803 Emma Street, ca. 1950. Jeff Brodhead Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
