November 15

Bar pilot John W. Pierce (1839-1927), and wife Mary Elizabeth Pierce.

1908 – Captain A.B. Potter of the R.G. Ross Construction Company arrived to begin work on rising the east jetty of the Northwest Channel. The work required six months and 30,000 tons of Massachusetts granite to complete.

1916 – A storm blew through Key West from the northwest with winds of up to 75 mph, damaging many trees, telegraph poles, and signs. A large government barge broke loose and swept through the harbor before grounding. Many other vessels were damaged or sunk. There were no injuries.

1921 – Capt. John W. Pierce retired after serving 62 years as a coast and bar pilot at Key West, where he was generally considered the dean of pilots between Hampton Roads and Pensacola. Pierce was born on the island in 1839, to parents who had emigrated from Bermuda.

1948 – The Key West City Commission voted to change the name of Division Street to Truman Avenue in honor of President Truman’s visit to the city.

1950 – Shirley J. Garson became the first woman in Key West to become a U.S. Coast Guard licensed charter boat captain.

1960 – A total of 26 Cuban men, all of them refugees escaping the Castro regime, arrived in the Keys on three boats. One of the vessels landed at Sand Key and was towed to Key West by the Coast Guard.

2005 – The Islamorada Village Council approved construction of a $5.9 million municipal complex at Founders Park. 

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

Image: Bar pilot John W. Pierce (1839-1927), and wife Mary Elizabeth Pierce. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.