May 3
- Florida Keys History Center
- 3 hours ago
- 2 min read
1889 – George and Henry Canfield of Key West found an undated letter in a bottle at sea that said, “We are on a Key between Havana and Key West, toward the east. We are the crew of the schooner Angelita. Succor us! If anyone will succor us we will give them $10,000 for their pains. Capt. Erickson and crew.” Search parties found no sign of the Angelita.
1911 – Key West was named headquarters for the Seventh Lighthouse District. The district included all the lighthouses from Fowey Rocks off the Upper Keys to Cedar Key on the West Coast of Florida.
1936 – The Welters Cornet Band held a concert at Jackson Square in Key West. They performed eight numbers, including “America,” “Sophisticated Lady,” “Lights Our March,” and “The Star Spangled Banner.”
1946 – As part of a “general clean-up” of the area, the Aeromarine Airways sheds on the beach at the foot of Duval Street were torn down. The twin sheds, from where Aeromarine “flying boats” traveled between Key West and Havana starting in 1920, were the first international air station in the United States.
1956 – In anticipation of the upcoming Key West High School Class of 1931 25th class reunion, J. Lancelot Lester was reviewing motion picture footage he had filmed of their graduation. The movie, which documented the ceremony held in Bayview Park, was expected to be a highlight of the gathering.
1967 – Work began on the first Junior College building on the new site in Stock Island.
2001 – The Key West City Commission approved the construction of a 10-foot-wide bicycle and pedestrian bridge to connect Staples Avenue across the 9th Street Canal. Area residents expressed concern that the bridge would bring unwanted traffic into their quiet neighborhood.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The abandoned Aeromarine Airways hangars at Key West, ca. 1935. Lewis H Stafford, photographer. The Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier, and Pound families. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.