October 26
1831 – After Edward Glover, lightkeeper at the Dry Tortugas, filed a salvage claim on a brig wrecked at those islands, Key West Judge James Webb purposefully awarded him a low amount. Webb’s opinion noted the “impolicy of placing temptations within the reach of Light House Keepers” who might insufficiently perform their duties so resulting wrecked ships would improve their financial gain.
1854 – The schooner Jenny Lind arrived in Key West in a leaky condition, and after discharging its cargo of guns for Fort Taylor, it was put on the marine railway to be caulked.
1968 – Congressman Dante Fascell dedicated the new Post Office on Summerland Key.
1994 – Buddy Owen’s famous B.O.’s Fish Wagon on Duval Street was moving to a new home at the corner of Caroline and William streets near the Key West Bight.
2011 - A study found that 29% of children in Monroe County did not have health insurance, 3.5 times the national average. It was thought the high number was indicative of the lack of benefits offered to service industry workers.
Information compiled by Dr. Corey Malcom, Lead Historian, Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
Image: First Dry Tortugas Lighthouse, ca. 1865. This lighthouse on Garden Key was first lit in 1826, and Fort Jefferson began to be constructed around it in the 1840s. This lighthouse stood in the fort’s parade ground until 1876. Scott DeWolfe Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.
