October 25
1825 – Commodore John Rogers of the U.S. Navy wrote that of the 140 officers, sailors, and marines at Key West, 59 were sick with “Intermittent Fevers.” He hired two vessels to transport the sick men to Norfolk at $10 per head. When told they were leaving, “every countenance appeared to beam with joy.”
1831 – The schooner Ploughboy, after having run aground on the reef, arrived safely at Key West. The vessel’s crew had abandoned ship after the accident, absconding with a longboat. The captain and mate refloated the Ploughboy by jettisoning barrels of tobacco, lead ingots, and an anchor and chain.
1856 – The steamer Isabel arrived at Key West with an artillery company under the command of Col. Winder to replace Capt. Vodges’ Company A, who had been stationed at the island’s Army barracks for a considerable time. Vodges and his men then sailed for Fort Moultrie, Charleston.
1923 – Key West’s 25 cigar factories were producing over 60 million cigars annually.
1950 – The Navy announced plans for 1,000 new housing units at Dredgers Key (today’s Sigsbee Park), Trumbo Point, and the old Army Barracks at Peary Court. The old and dilapidated housing at the Army Barracks and at Rest Beach were torn down.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: An image of the Parade Grounds at the Key West Army Barracks, from a ca. 1880 stereoview card. The Collection of DeWolfe and Wood. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
