May 16

Singleton Shrimp Co. loading dock at Key West Bight, 1970s.

1859 – A fire began in the L.M. Shaefer warehouse near the corner of Front and Duval streets in Key West. The fire destroyed nearly every building within the area bounded by Front, Greene, Simonton, and Whitehead streets.

1860 – U.S. Marshal Fernando J. Moreno received 513 Africans from the bark William. The bark was taking the Africans to Cuba to be sold into slavery in violation of international law when it was captured by the USS Wyandotte. The Africans were housed in barracks with another group that had arrived earlier.

1938 – Domingo Rosillo, the Cuban aviator who gained fame as the first man to fly from Key West to Havana, arrived at Key West to celebrate the 25^th anniversary of his pioneering flight.

1944 – Florida’s Governor Spessard L. Holland dedicated the new Overseas Highway. The new highway used the railroad right-of-way and bridges to make a modern road on the Keys. After the Hurricane of 1935 the only part of the railroad right-of-way used for the highway was from Lower Matecumbe to Big Pine Key.

1976 – The Singleton Seafood Corporation announced they had bought Sea Farms, Inc. and Thompson & O’Neal Shrimp Company. The purchase included most of the working waterfront of the Key West Bight.

1986 – Affordable housing was the top concern voiced at a public hearing held by the Key West Planning and Restoration Commission. A growing imbalance between permanent, affordable housing and transient housing was at the heart of the matter.

2001 – After more than a year of discussion, Monroe County commissioners agreed to turn over the still-under-construction Marathon Community Park to the city of Marathon.

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

Image: Singleton Shrimp Co. loading dock at Key West Bight, 1970s. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.