May 9
- Florida Keys History Center
- May 8
- 2 min read
1868 – Henry Albury was appointed Postmaster of Key West.
1926 – The Right Reverend Cameron Mann, Bishop of South Florida, consecrated Key West’s St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.
1929 – Congressman M. Alfred Michaelson of Chicago was found not guilty in federal court on charges of smuggling and transporting intoxicating liquors. The Congressman’s brother-in-law claimed the two trunks of liquor were his and had been included with the Congressman’s baggage, which was given a free pass through customs.
1931 – The church at 717 Simonton Street in Key West, which had been under the jurisdiction of the Wesleyan Methodists of England, became a Presbyterian Church, after the Wesleyans could no longer afford to send pastors from the Bahamas to Key West. Reverend Alfred de Barritt, pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, resigned to take the new position.
1951 – The Monroe County Commission endorsed developer Joe Sirugo’s plan to build 200 concrete block homes on Stock Island. They also promised to build roads in the area if funds were available, after Sirugo asked that Third Street, Fifth Street, Fifth Avenue, and Cross Street be constructed.
1956 – The members of the First Baptist Church in Key West voted to build a new church building at their property on the corner of Eaton and Bahama streets, after the previous structure had been destroyed by fire a month earlier.
1969 – The Key West High School baseball team defeated Lakeland 3-0 to win the State Class A Championship played in Lakeland.
1980 – The world premiere of the film “Assignment: Kill Castro” was held at Key West’s Cobb Cinema Twin Theater. The movie was a partially fictionalized version of Captain Tony Tarracino’s life.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: The First Baptist Church being rebuilt at 524 Eaton Street on May 14, 1957. Photo by Don Pinder. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
