May 8

FKAA desalination plant on Stock Island, 1970s.

1875 – The Mayor and Health Officer at Key West issued a bulletin asserting that the island was perfectly healthy. The announcement was to counter a dispatch from Washington, DC stating that there were multiple cases of yellow fever on the island and that two people had died from the disease.

1923 – A group of 116 Key West women met at the Congregational Church and then marched in a body to every gas station on the island, urging the owners to keep their places closed on Sundays. Every proprietor agreed to the closure.

1933 – The Key West City Council agreed that the Key West Electric Company could abandon its city bus line after all taxes were paid and rates for other electrical services were lowered to negotiated terms. The company would forfeit any future rights to railway of bus service within the city.

1945 – President Truman declared the date “Victory in Europe Day,” and Florida Governor Caldwell ordered the closure of all bars in the state for 24 hours. Monroe County Sheriff Berlin Sawyer, aided by members of the American Legion, made rounds through Key West to ensure saloon keepers were complying.

1975 – A new turbine for the FKAA desalination plant on Stock Island arrived at Key West via an emergency Air Sunshine flight. A severe drought had caused Lower Keys water levels to drop very low, and desalinated seawater was crucial to getting through the dry spell.

1990 – Residents of Indian Mound Estates on Upper Sugarloaf Key voted to acquire a property known as “the Point” for use as a neighborhood park.

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

Image: FKAA desalination plant on Stock Island, 1970s. Photo by Wendy Tucker. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.