September 17

Mallory Line steamer San Marco arriving in Key West September 1906.

1908 – The Mallory Steamship Co. announced that, effective Oct. 1, its New York-to-Galveston line would no longer call at Key West. Instead, a new line from Mobile and Tampa would service the island, though a Galveston-to-New York vessel would still stop at Key West on Saturdays for freight and passengers.

1917 – C.W. Saunderson resigned his seat on the Key West City Council, as he had received a commission from the Army.

1946 – Key West’s Public Services Division announced that, due to difficulties in unloading from truck to barge, they would no longer carry the island’s garbage out to sea for dumping. Instead, all the “dry” garbage would be taken to the Stock Island landfill, while the Navy would continue to carry some “wet” waste offshore.

1947 – Key West’s Strand Theater signed a $25,000 contract to install a 60-ton air-conditioning system.

1960 – A barge carrying telephone poles to replace those destroyed by Hurricane Donna broke from its tow and smashed into the newly repaired waterline at Vaca Cut. Water service through the Keys was expected to be delayed for another two days.

1993 – A defecting Cuban Air Force pilot landed his MIG-21 fighter plane at the Naval Air Station. The plane was detected on radar about four minutes before it landed.

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

Image: Mallory Line steamer San Marco arriving in Key West September 1906. Photo by E. Lowe Pierce from the Wright Langley Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.