March 7
- Florida Keys History Center
- Mar 7
- 2 min read
1855 – Anne Murray, Duchess of Atholl and close friend and confidante of the United Kingdom’s Queen Victoria, stopped briefly in Key West on the Steamer Isabel. Murray was on a tour of the United States.
1898 – At Key West’s Convent of Mary Immaculate, Sister M. Florentine and Sister M. Simon observed the silver anniversary of their service to the Catholic Church.
1904 – Key West Police Officer Clarence K. Till was killed in a shootout with Dutchy Melbourne at a White Street coffee shop. Till died after answering the call of a disturbance instigated by Melbourne and his gang.
1908 – W.A. Gwynn was appointed Key West city engineer with compensation only for services rendered.
1923 – Judge William Hunt Harris was buried from St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. He was born in Louisiana and came to Key West at the age of 20. He had served Monroe County in the Florida House and Senate, of which he was president in
1907. He also served as Key West Police Court Judge for 14 years, and at the time of his death he was Judge of the Criminal Court.
1939 – As part of the renovation and construction projects across the Keys sponsored by the Works Progress Administration, crews began painting the Monroe County Courthouse white.
1941 – Six of the nation’s fastest sailing yachts left Havana in the afternoon to begin the Havana-Key West Yacht Race. They were expected to arrive in Key West by morning, where the finish line was set between Fort Taylor and a Coast Guard cutter stationed in the harbor.
1976 – Windsor Village Condominiums, a one-acre tract with 11 houses and fronted by Windsor Lane, was established as a Key West literary compound. Writers John Hersey, Ralph Ellison, John Ciardi, and Richard Wilbur made the first purchases.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: 719 Windsor Lane, ca. 1965. In 1976 the house became part of the Windsor Lane Village Condos. Pt Tract 5. Photo taken by the Monroe County Property Appraiser's office. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
