October 16
1858 – The brig Northman, sailing from Boston to Mobile, ran aground on Looe Key, and bad weather kept wreckers from approaching the stricken vessel for four days. It was eventually freed with a strong wind from a favorable direction and a full press of sail.
1861 – The steamer Salvor from Tampa was brought into Key West, after being seized by the U.S. Navy near the Marquesas Keys. The Salvor’s owner was a known secessionist, but he had taken the oath of allegiance to the United States and was allowed to take his ship to New York. Instead, he went to Nassau and took on a cargo off munitions for the Confederacy.
1976 – The Monroe County Sheriff’s Department was trying to identify the remains of a young man found off No Name Key who had been shot multiple times and had 20 pounds of dive weights attached to his body. It was the second time in a month that a weighted corpse was found in the area’s waters.
1983 – Zayre Department Store celebrated its grand opening at the Key Plaza shopping center in Key West.
2011 – Monroe County residents lacked health insurance at a rate that was twice the national average – 32 percent in the Keys had no coverage compared to the nationwide rate of 16 percent.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: Zayre Department Store in Key Plaza shopping Center, 2900 North Roosevelt Boulevard on September 15, 1983. Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
