May 8
- Florida Keys History Center
- 6 days ago
- 2 min read
1854 – A letter from Key West stated that since the beginning of the year there had been 28 vessels wrecked upon the Florida Reef. Salvaged property brought before the court was valued at $256,189.74, with wreckers awarded $46,989.92 – an average of 18 cents paid to the wreckers for every dollar of property they saved.
1926 – The Monroe County Commission issued a request for proposals for the construction of a 24-foot-wide roadbed that would extend the Tamiami Trail through mainland Monroe County for six miles, terminating at the Collier and Monroe County line.
1929 – Miss Mollie Parker of Key West was admitted to practice as counselor, solicitor, advocate, and proctor before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
1932 – The Key West Library was presented with an old ship’s figurehead, a hand-carved eagle, in memory of Captain Robert T. Menner, Commandant of the Seventh Naval District, who had died at Key West three weeks earlier.
1936 – The National Rifle Association granted a charter to the Key West Rifle and Pistol Club. Officers were Charles Thompson, president; Ernest Hemingway, vice-president; Eva Warner, secretary & treasurer; and Clem C. Price, executive officer.
1946 – In celebration of the first anniversary of VE (Victory in Europe) Day, open houses were held at the Naval Station’s submarine base and the Naval Air Stations at Trumbo Island and Boca Chica.
1956 – Monroe County State Representative Bernie C. Papy was re-elected by a 4,319 to 2,901 majority over Bill Chappell.
1987 – City Electric System announced that the electric tie line to the mainland had been successfully energized.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Wreckers at Work. From “Wrecking on the Florida Keys” by Charles Nordhoff, Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol.XVIII, 1859. Monroe County Public Library/Florida Keys History Center Collection; gift of Corey Malcom. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
