May 15
- Florida Keys History Center
- May 14
- 2 min read
1855 – Ellen Mallory, a Key West resident since 1822, died on the island at the age of 64. After her husband died in 1825, leaving her alone with two young sons, she opened the island’s first boarding house, which she then ran for many years. Mallory “possessed an extraordinary fund of good sense, wit, and humor, which ever made her an agreeable companion,” said her obituary.
1926 – Capt. John G. Berry, commanding officer of the Coast Guard base in Key West, announced that four sea planes had arrived for Prohibition enforcement in the area. Berry said of the Coast Guard’s efforts, “we intend to enforce the law even if it becomes necessary to place ships one mile apart.”
1930 – The preliminary census figures for Monroe County showed a population of 13,118. The Key West Chamber of Commerce claimed the figures were considerably below the real total.
1941 – Paramount photographers who had been in town shooting scenes for the movie “Reap the Wild Wind” left for Hollywood.
1947 – Work started on building a camp for Boy Scouts on a 7-acre tract on West Summerland Key.
1961 – Thirteenth Street in Key West was changed to Kennedy Drive and Fifth Street was changed to Macmillan Drive to commemorate the meeting of President John F. Kennedy and British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan in Key West.
1983 – Florence Rabon, former newspaper reporter and civic leader, died at the age of 76. For 20 years she was the Key West feature and social columnist for the Miami Herald.
1985 – Key West’s La Concha Hotel was sold for $2.3 million. The land was not included in the sale and was to be leased for $100,000 annually.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Grave marker for Ellen Mallory (1792- May 15, 1855) in the Key West Cemetery. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
