September 6

Lobster traps at the Gulf Seafood Company docks on Stock Island, September 4, 2004.

1862 – William D. Cash, a commission merchant for Wall & Pinckney in Key West, was arrested for secessionist beliefs and confined at Fort Taylor. Cash had been heard to say that he wished every Union soldier at Key West would die of yellow fever.

1908 – Charles E. Magoon, provisional governor of Cuba, arrived at Knight’s Key dock on a private rail car to connect with a steamer to Havana. Magoon noted how similar the Keys were to Cuba and that he saw a bright future for the islands and the railroad.

1909 – The Ocean Beach Hotel at the settlement of Crainlyn on Grassy Key burned, along with all its contents. Owner E. H. Crain was at Key West when the blaze occurred and had no idea of its origin.

1920 – The U.S. Census Bureau announced that Key West had a population of 19,039. This was a drop of 906, or 4.5%, since the 1910 count.

1960 – The Key West Police Department’s new teletype system worked as planned when Homestead police reported a car stolen from the island had been found there. The KWPD had issued a flash alert about the vehicle over the TWX system the day before.

1975 – The old Baptist church building at mile marker 101 in Key Largo was destroyed by fire, with the flames reaching powerlines and causing an hours-long power outage in the Upper Keys. The building had been abandoned for 10 years, and no one knew who the owner was.

2010 – Buyers from China, Taiwan, and other overseas markets were paying between $5 and $7 per pound for spiny lobster, making Florida Keys crawfishermen very happy. These prices were double what they had been the previous year.

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

Image: Lobster traps at the Gulf Seafood Company docks on Stock Island, September 4, 2004. Dale McDonald Collection. Monroe County Public Library, Florida Keys History Center.