May 12

829 Fleming Street, Key West, ca. 1965.

1898 – Four sailors were killed when the USS Winslow was hit by Spanish gunfire in a battle at Cardenas, Cuba. They were buried in the Battleship Maine plot in the Key West Cemetery. The dead were oiler John Varveres, cook Josiah Tunnel, fireman George Burton, and fireman John Dneefe.

1910 – The first spike was driven from the Key West end of the Overseas Railroad at the railyard on Trumbo Island.

1929 – Work commenced on a new Standard Oil Co. gasoline filling station at 829 Fleming Street, on the corner of Margaret, in Key West.

1936 – Even though the regular yachting season at Key West had ended, vessels were still arriving to berth at the docks of the shuttered submarine base, with four coming in in recent days. 

1959 – Gulf Oil Corporation was drilling an oil well at the Marquesas Keys 14 miles west of Key West. There was a 40-man force living on the work platform.

1972 – An explosive test conducted by the Navy sank the cruiser Wilkes Barre in 250 feet of water off American Shoals. The ship was positioned so that it would create an artificial fishing reef in conjunction with the destroyer Fred T. Berry, which had been sunk a week earlier.

1989 – Frank Romano and Joe Liszka announced that Key West Aloe would move its cosmetics production facility to Florida City.

2001 – Islamorada officials were acting to stop Woody’s Bar from featuring nude dancers. Woody’s owners, who had recently begun to bring young women from Orlando to perform four nights a week at the popular restaurant and nightclub, claimed they had the proper licenses for adult entertainment.

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

Image: 829 Fleming Street, ca. 1965. Sqr 34, Pt Lot 1. Photo taken by the Monroe County Property Appraiser's office. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.