September 30

The Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center at the Florida Keys Community College taken April 29, 2006.

1895 – Fishermen arrived at Key West and reported that the Spanish Navy vessel Conde de Venadito was landing marines along the Florida Keys in search of filibusters (military adventurers) who were supplying rebel forces in Cuba. There was much excitement and indignation at Key West over the apparent insult to U.S. sovereignty.

1926 – Monroe County Engineer Joseph Watkins and other officials went to Wood Key off the western Everglades in mainland Monroe to check on survivors of the recent hurricane. After a hazardous voyage, they found people at the small settlement in bad condition and in need of shelter.

1976 – President Gerald Ford signed a military construction bill that included a provision to keep Naval Air Station Key West open. The station had been slated for closure or significant downsizing.

1986 – Ron Saunders was elected state representative for Monroe County in the Democratic primary, as there was no Republican opponent for a general election.

1987 – The Key West City Commission approved the annexation of Tank Island (Sunset Key).

2005 – The Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center at Florida Keys Community College was forced to close after being damaged by multiple tropical weather systems over the summer. A 500-seat, air-conditioned tent was to be erected in the parking lot to serve as an interim venue until repairs could be made.

2010 – The Navy was notifying boaters who had moored near Fleming Key that they had to leave the area. A no-mooring area west of the island, prompted by the storage of potentially explosive munitions there, had been expanded from 100 to 400 yards a year earlier, but about 20 vessels had returned to the area.

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

Image: The Tennessee Williams Fine Arts Center at the Florida Keys Community College taken April 29, 2006. From the Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.