May 26

Key West cigar packers at work, ca. 1900.

1885 – Word arrived in Key West that an expeditionary force led by Cuban revolutionary Limbano Sánchez had landed on the north coast of Cuba and attacked Spanish forces. Key West’s cigar factories were closed, and a celebratory parade and speeches organized by the Cuban exile community went late into the night.

1907 – The Key West Chamber of Commerce voted to employ counsel to prosecute firms using “Key West” on boxes of cigars not made in the city.

1909 – Mr. Van Vleck, fishing with Captain Albert Hiembile, made his final trip of the winter. During the winter he made 57 trips to the Card Sound Banks and caught 222 bonefish, the largest of which was 10 1/4 pounds.

1914 – The 18 men of sponge schooner Edna Louise of Tarpon Springs managed to reach Tampa in a lifeboat after their vessel was attacked and burned near the Marquesas Keys by 25 Key West men in a steam launch. The attack stemmed from the resentment of Keys spongers toward outsiders encroaching on their territory.

1926 – A joint meeting of the Key West City Council, Monroe County Commission, and the Monroe Water District was held to discuss plans for securing a supply of fresh water for the Florida Keys. Attendees feared a continued lack of a steady water source would inhibit growth and development.

1958 – Plantation Key was being used as the base of operations for the filming the feature movie “Secret Cargo.”

1961 – Pedro Aguilar baseball field on Kennedy Drive was dedicated, and Mayor Delio Cobo threw out the first ball to launch the newly organized Junior Major League.

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

Image: Key West cigar packers at work, ca. 1900. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.