May 17
- Florida Keys History Center
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
1861 – Key West Mayor John P. Baldwin was removed from office when Florida officials were removed because of secession.
1892 – Mexican revolutionary Catarino Garza was found to be hiding in Key West, and Texas officials asked that he be held until they could get there. The Mexican government also wanted Garza and was offering a $3000 reward for his arrest and extradition.
1926 – Monroe County High School was accredited by the Florida Department of Education as a Class A institution. Graduates could now enter Florida colleges and universities without taking an examination.
1951 – More than 50 American and Cuban dignitaries and air enthusiasts dedicated a monument near the corner of Grinnell and Caroline streets in Key West to mark the first successful flight by Major Domingo Rosillo from Key West to Havana. The 75-year-old Rosillo attended the ceremony as guest of honor.
1980 – A Cuban refugee boat capsized while heading to Key West from Mariel, killing 14 of the 52 people reported aboard. The Coast Guard rescued the others.
1989 – Shorty’s Diner, an institution on Duval Street in Key West since 1942, closed. A.J. Galloway, son of the founder, announced he was moving to central Florida and taking a long rest.
1993 – The Monroe County Public Library on Fleming Street in Key West held its grand re-opening after a major renovation and addition.
2001 – MTV began filming episodes of “Say What? Karaoke” with Nicole Scherzinger at the Oak Beach Inn in Key West to kick off its “MTV’s Summer In The Keys” programming. Other shows to be shot on the island in the coming weeks included “Sink or Swim” and Carmen Electra’s “Hypermix.”
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Monroe County High School in Key West in "The Conch" yearbook, 1927. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
