October 12
- Florida Keys History Center
- Oct 11
- 2 min read
1881 – Dr. Robert J. Perry was elected Mayor of Key West. He also served as mayor from 1891 to 1895 when the mayor was elected by the City Commission.
1930 – Over the previous 48 hours, four patients at the Marine Hospital in Key West had become so drunk that the surgeon-in-charge had to discharge them. Many wondered if bootleggers had infiltrated the facility.
1931 – Frank Mastragani, “The Monkey Man,” died at age 75. He was one of the colorful characters of Key West for more than 50 years. He first arrived on the island with a hand organ and a monkey. He later had a fruit and vegetable store first on Fleming Street then Duval Street.
1949 – Voters approved a $500,000 bond to improve the Monroe County School System.
1955 – Monroe County Commissioner Joe Allen announced that the Navy would be taking over Oceanview Park, Key West’s Black recreation area. The 10-acre park along the southern shore of the island had been leased to the county with the stipulation that it could revert to the Navy at any time.
1960 – The Monroe County Anti-Mosquito District and the Islamorada Volunteer Fire Department were given an allocation of county-owned land in Islamorada for the expansion of their facilities.
1978 – Federal Judge William O. Mehrtens ruled that 11 stilt houses built in shallow waters to the west of Key West had to be removed.
2010 – Monroe County Sheriff’s detectives were examining a skeleton uncovered by a Marathon gardener in her backyard on her 93rd Street. The human remains looked to have been buried for over 75 years, and speculation on their origin ranged from a hurricane victim to a long-ago murder case.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Stilt houses in the "lakes" area west of Key West, June 1970. Photo by Raymond L. Blazevic. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
