November 16

An aerial view of Oceanside Marina, Stock Island. Photo taken by the federal government on October 7, 1987.

1871 – The ship I. James of Maine, sailing from Cardiff to New Orleans, wrecked on Conch Reef with a cargo of railroad iron.

1927 – The Monroe County, the first of the ferries to be used on the water gap in the first Overseas Highway, was launched in Jacksonville.

1930 – Key Wester Arthur Tagle was shot and wounded in Havana during riots by protestors wanting to overthrow Cuba’s President Machado. Tagle’s family received word that he would fully recover. What he was doing in Havana was not clear.

1968 – A three-year effort by the Reverend Russell Burns to obtain a major league baseball farm team was achieved when the Florida State League announced that the San Diego Padres would sponsor a team in Key West in 1969.

1975 – It was announced that the National YMCA Center for Underwater Activities would be established at Key West at the beginning of the upcoming year. The training and education center would “facilitate mankind’s increasing utilization of the underwater environment, with respect for its ecological integrity.”

1976 – Air Sunshine and Southeast Air Line merged. The merger of the two lines led to improved service.

2008 – Due to the year-long economic down-turn, Florida Keys marinas were struggling to fill slips. Many were on the verge of bankruptcy.

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

Image: An aerial view of Oceanside Marina, Stock Island. Photo taken by the federal government on October 7, 1987. From the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.