September 13

Postcard of Long Key Estates in the City of Layton, third largest incorporated city in Monroe County, 1960s.

1828 – The lighthouses at Key West, Sand Key, and the Dry Tortugas were low on oil and could make only “a very indifferent light.” It was probable they would soon run out of fuel and go dark.

1925 – Plans for the Florecita subdivision on Boca Chica Key showed two main thoroughfares would run through the development: Santa Teresa Prado north and south; Boca Chica Esplanade east and west. A 110-foot-by-130-foot central plaza would feature a large fountain decorated with rose quartz.

1930 – Crews were working day and night in dynamiting and dredging a channel for a yacht basin at the Rock Haven Club on Key Largo. The project, financed by Chicago moneymen, would also be the site of a 100-room hotel and “a winter playground for northern tourists.”

1948 – Sister Louis Gabriel died at the Convent of Mary Immaculate, where she had served since 1897. In 1922, at the dedication of the Grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes, which was erected to commemorate the 25th anniversary of her religious vows, Sister Gabriel prayed that as long as the Grotto stood, Key West would be protected from the ravages of a major hurricane.

1955 – The Florida Internal Improvement Board accepted a bid of $1,106,000 from the California Co., a subsidiary of Standard Oil of California, for an oil and gas lease on 734,760 acres in Monroe County. The company planned to expend $10 million to explore submerged nearshore areas.

1963 – Long Key residents voted to incorporate a portion of the island as a municipality, approved naming the new city “Layton,” and selected Del Layton to serve as mayor.

1985 – The Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services was studying multiple sclerosis in Monroe County, where as many as 59 cases had been reported. No common links in the cases were found.

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

Image: Postcard of Long Key Estates in the City of Layton, third largest incorporated city in Monroe County, 1960s. The Heritage House Collection, donated by the Campbell, Poirier and Pound families. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.