September 12

Jack Williams' Saloon at 101 Simonton Street, ca. 1900.

1871 – John Bartlum died at age 57. He was born in the Bahamas and was working in Key West by 1835. He was the leading shipbuilder of Key West working for the firm of Bowne and Curry. His greatest achievement was the clipper ship Stephen R. Mallory, the only clipper ship built in the South with native labor. In 1847, he moved his home from Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas to 730 Eaton Street.

1906 – Barrooms were of much discussion in Key West. The city council had recently passed an ordinance prohibiting women from entering bars and from anyone dancing therein; the liquor association planned to appeal it as unconstitutional. Local ministers were asking that bars be prohibited within 400 feet of churches or schools.

1930 – Under a municipal cost-cutting program, 18 employees of the City of Key West had their salaries reduced, while others lost their jobs. Those dismissed were four policemen, a billing clerk, the golf course greenskeeper, and two gravediggers.

1935 – A tally of casualties from the Upper Keys hurricane showed 285 veterans employed as bridge workers were dead or missing, and 101 were injured and hospitalized. Of civilian residents, 125 were dead, and 151 were hospitalized.

1939 – T. Jenkins Curry, Monroe County commissioner and Key lime grove owner, noted that the market for Florida Keys limes was suffering because of competition from Mexico. Local limes once brought $8 per crate, but that price had dropped to $1.

1955 – A new speaker system debuted in the Boca Chica Naval Air Station dining hall, allowing military personnel to have music with their meals. The tunes ranged from “semi-classics” by Benny Goodman, Doris Day, and Jackie Gleason, to newer “rock n’ roll,” which was becoming increasingly popular.  

1987 – The nuclear-powered fast attack submarine the USS Key West was commissioned in Norfolk, VA. This was the third Navy vessel to carry the name Key West.

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

Image: Jack Williams' Saloon at 101 Simonton Street, ca. 1900. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.