November 30

1861 – The U.S. Navy schooner Wanderer seized the British schooner Telegraph off the Upper Keys for suspicious activity after it had cleared Key West for the Bahamas but then stopped at Key Vaca and Indian Key without authorization.

1885 – The Key West Board of Trade, the island’s first commercial advocacy organization, was organized with John Jay Philbrick as president.

1937 – President Franklin Roosevelt interrupted his Florida fishing vacation to visit the Dry Tortugas on the yacht Potomac.

1960 – The U.S. Bureau of Census reported that Key West had a population of 33,956, and Monroe County outside of Key West had 13,965, for a total of 47,921.

1963 – The Gallery Lounge Tavern, Murray Singer owner, was located at 224 Duval Street.

2000 – Key West artist George Carey unveiled his latest work, a 10-foot brass sculpture of a manatee in front of the First State Bank building on North Roosevelt Boulevard. Carey’s work was commissioned by the bank as part of the local Art in Public Places program.

2015 – The Southeast Regional Climate Change Compact, which included Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties, began a three-day summit in Key West called “Charting the Course.” The meeting was a forum for South Florida government and business leaders to discuss approaches to sea level rise.

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

Image: George Carey with the First State Bank Manatee that he built, November 30, 2000. Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.